


Numbers

by Drosolmire



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-27
Updated: 2016-03-28
Packaged: 2018-05-09 18:13:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 48,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5550407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drosolmire/pseuds/Drosolmire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Numbers.<br/>That’s what he saw on a daily basis.<br/>And now, he's going to use these numbers to "help" his classmates out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Max(Match) Making

Numbers.

That’s what he saw on a daily basis.

As light brown eyes scanned the tired and unfazed faces of his male companions, Max pushed his glasses upward and gave a huff of his own.

Chugging down a bottle of water, Ivan wiped away sweat from his forehead using the back of his arm. That was his third bottle of water. 

One bottle of water had contained five-hundred milliliters of water. Meaning Ivan had just ingested fifteen hundred milliliters of water; in the span of seventeen seconds.

Which was an average of five point sixty seven seconds per water bottle, Max thought, nodding to himself in an impressed manner.

The large male sighed contentedly. He wasn’t perspiring as much as before, and his breathing looked as if it had returned to normal. 

Opening a water bottle of his own and taking a sip from it, Max eyed Nathanael curiously.

The redhead had been resting his back to the wall for a while now, and he looked like he was dozing off. As soon as they all arrived at the locker room, Nathanael was panting like crazy; he looked fine now, though.

Nino didn’t seem to be fazed by their physical education class at all; in fact, he was sporting his earphones and doing a little shimmy by himself near the door.

No one seemed to mind, though. As the others were either too tired, didn’t care, were used to it, or a mixture of all three.

Kim was ridiculous. 

Their physical education class was track and field. With the field being the school and the track being going _around_ the school.

And here Kim was; doing what seemed to be his seventy-sixth push up.

Seventy-seventh.

Seventy-eight.

Seventy-ninth.

Shaking his head and readjusting his glasses, Max furrowed his brows a bit. Doesn’t that muscle head ever run out of energy to expend?

Brown eyes fell upon the last person in the room that Max had yet to observe. Adrien.

The blond sat idly by one of the benches, looking normal in all honesty.

Max’s calculations were off by a bit. He had assumed Adrien would at least be panting when they came to the locker room.

Okay, his calculations were really off. Like really far off.

But what happened to Adrien was exactly the opposite.

The blond looked like he could go another ten, no, thirteen rounds around the school before he would start breaking a sweat.

Max knew that Adrien took different kinds of sports; but he wasn’t aware that the blond was, dare he think about it, just as fit as Kim.

Kim was fit. It was apparent just looking at his build. 

Heck, he could run neck and neck with Alix on skates; he lost barefoot by a few seconds to a person who had skates on!

A thought struck Max, and then he quickly looked towards Kim. Numbers started appearing in his mind’s eye and he quickly put them all together.

They were both competitive. Check.

They both seem awkward when confronted by the opposite gender. Probably. Check.

They don’t technically hate each other. Check.

He’s around a head and a half taller than her. Couples where the male is relatively taller than his female significant other is generally accepted as “cute”.

Check.

Clearing his throat, Max garnered the attention of his male companions “I would like to present my observation,” he started.

Readjusting his glasses, Max smiled as he saw the curious look on his classmate’s faces; Nathanael seemed to be up, as he quickly opened one eye to look at him.

Nino took off one part of his earphone but continued to do his little shimmy.

“It has come to my attention that we normally go in tandems,” nodding to himself, Max stood up “Adrien and Nino, Kim and I, Chloe and Sabrina-” he elaborated.

“And that we are outnumbered by the females; by thirty-three point thirty-four percent,” amused by the confused looks he was getting, Max continued “Seeing as how there are more of them than us,” gesturing to them with his hands, the bespectacled high-schooler smirked.

“I suggest we all follow in Ivan’s footsteps,” everyone turned to look at their large classmate, making Ivan furrow his brows in surprise “M-me?” 

Pointing a finger at the large high-schooler, Max nodded “Yes; getting girlfriends!”

Total silence filled the room, and Nino’s music could be heard faintly from his earphones “Dude, I’m all up for that!”

Extending a fist for Max to fist bump, Nino smiled cheekily while stealing a glance at Adrien; to which the blond replied with a slightly confused look.

Max lightly bumped his fist with Nino’s “I will be doing the numbers,” readjusting his glasses once more, Max smiled mischievously “We’ll be starting with-”

“And, one hundred!” Kim huffed, pushing himself upward and inhaling a large amount of air.

“Kim,” Max stated nonchalantly, earning him a raised eyebrow from his friend.

“What about me?” Kim asked curiously, taking a water bottle from the bag beside him and downing it quickly.

Two-hundred fifty milliliters; in two point ninety-four seconds. Max snorted at Kim, who couldn’t drink as fast as Ivan. 

“This will be a collective effort,” nodding to himself, Max pointed towards Kim “We’ll be getting him a girlfriend,”

“And the person I have in mind is-“

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ironically, there isn't a single numerical character in this chapter.  
> Huh.  
> I'm sorry about the cliffhanger, I'm sure the internal thoughts of Max kind of give off who he's planning on pairing Kim with.  
> I, uh, think.


	2. Race

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She was falling.
> 
> He fell back first.  
> She fell face first.
> 
> Oh, she was falling alright; not just to the floor.

“Alix,” Max stated a-matter-of-factly, earning him confused looks from his male companions.

Kim was in the middle of drinking a second water bottle, and he instantly released its contents from his mouth to the ground below him

“What?!”

“You heard me right,” readjusting his glasses, Max beckoned his companions to come closer and huddle up together.

“Why would I even want to date that, that-“ Kim started as he furrowed his brows, thinking of the right term-

“Shorty?!” he finally blurted out, earning him amused looks from his peers “Not to mention that stupid pink hair of hers, I mean, why would you dye your hair pink?”

“Freakishly adorable blue eyes that just-“ he trailed off, looking past the ground and having mental images of the petite skater flash through his mind.

“Mesmerize-“ laughter echoed through the relatively empty room and Kim frowned while avoiding eye contact; a small tint of red apparent on his cheeks.

Smirking cheekily at his friend, Max shook his head “Mesmerize; big word coming from you,”

Growling in irritation, Kim earned himself more laughter from his companions.

“At least we know that you like her,” Max stated.

“I do not!” Kim grit his teeth. The one he liked was Chloe! She had everything he wanted in a girl!

That lustrous golden hair, those bright blue eyes, that infectious personality-

Kim’s face fell and he sighed forlornly when he remembered what exactly had Akumatized him in the past. He had to face facts. Chloe wasn’t really interested in him.

Sighing reluctantly, the tall male shook his head “Fine,” he murmured, earning him amused cheers from his companions.

“Alright, here’s the plan-“

\---

“I don’t think this is going to work-“ Kim was cut off from his words when Max had made a shushing noise.

“Impossible, the numbers never lie!” Max frowned, taking a quick glance at Adrien; except for him, he thought.

“W-what am I supposed to do again?” fiddling with his thumbs, Kim looked around at his peers nervously, silently pleading to them to stop this stupid idea.

Smiling mischievously, Max fixed his glasses “They’re about to exit the female locker room,” Max started, absolutely amused at how jittery his normally proud friend was.

That just further reinforced that Kim felt a tad bit nervous around Alix; regardless of reason.

“I’m sure she’s still raring to go with a bit more exercise,” the bespectacled high-schooler nodded “Take her helmet, and we’ll do the rest,” 

Cheers of encouragement came from his peers and Kim bit at his lower lip “B-but what if she doesn’t have her helmet on?”

“Statistically possible,” Max smiled a bit “But last class was physical education, and we have a two-hour break before the next class starts,” readjusting his glasses, Max shook his head.

“That would mean she has the liberty of going around in her skates,” nodding to himself, Max continued “Meaning she would be wearing her helmet,”

“There is only a sixteen point sixty-seven percent chance that she wouldn’t be wearing it,” shooing Kim off, Max beckoned the others to come and follow him “Now, go!”

“B-but-“

“Go!”

Muttering something from under his breath, Kim ran off, placing himself at the end of the hallway where the female locker room was located.

“Operation: Race is a go,” readjusting his glasses, Max watched intently with the other males near the entrance of the school.

As the door to the female locker room swung open, an obnoxious voice ripped through the silence.

“Ugh, can’t you believe the coach?” Chloe shook her head “He didn’t count your double laps around the school for you and for me!”

“Unbelievable!”

Shaking her head and strutting away, Chloe was quickly followed by Sabrina “A-ah, yes! Unbelievable of him!”

Eyeing Kim, who had his back pressed against the wall at the end of the hall curiously, Chloe payed him no mind and quickly returned her attention to her companion.

Kim’s face fell a bit, looks like he really was irrelevant to her life.

Marinette and Alya came out soon after, with Alya animatedly telling a story about how she managed to take close-up photos of not just Ladybug, but of Chat Noir as well.

Marinette replied with mock shock and surprise, and felt happy that her friend was enjoying herself. 

Raising an eyebrow curiously at Kim, Marinette eyed him intently “Hey, Kim,” she furrowed her brows; why was he there at the end of the hall?

“You okay?-“

Cut off from her words when Kim had suddenly rushed forward, Marinette held onto Alya’s arm for support.

“Whoa, girl, you alright?” Alya steadied her friend, who was shocked at the sudden speed that Kim put on.

The two girls looked from behind them and saw Kim rushing towards the entrance of the female locker room; where Alix had just exited.

She had her helmet on, and was swerving through the people who exited the room on her skates. Stopping abruptly when she had seen Kim rushing towards her, Alix readied herself.

“What the-“ 

It all happened in one swift motion.

Kim stopped in his tracks and held her face with both of his hands.

Their eyes met and were interlocked for a few seconds; time felt as if it stopped, and Alix could feel the warmth from Kim’s relatively large hands.

“S-sorry,” Kim blurted out, removing the latch from her helmet and swiftly taking it from her head.

“H-hey!” Alix roared, looking curiously at Kim’s back. Why did he take her helmet?

Shaking her head a few times when she had noticed that she was doing absolutely nothing about it, Alix grit her teeth “Get back here, you big monkey!”

Rushing towards Kim who had jumped from the flight of stairs, Alix did the same and stopped abruptly when her skates had almost made her fall over.

Max gave a thumbs up to his friend and gestured at him to go outside “Alright, go to your places; go, now!” he commanded his male companions, to which they quickly agreed to.

Exiting the building, Kim was jogging in a single spot, looking around curiously “Psst!” turning to his left, Kim saw Max, who was gesturing at him to come closer.

“Alright, you remember the plan?” clutching at the helmet and pursing his lips, Kim shook his head “Uhh, I forgot,”

Smacking his face with his right hand, Max shook his head “Remember track and field from earlier?” the bespectacled high-schooler started “Wait for Alix to come out then take the exact same route as track and field, okay-“

“Hey!” Alix growled, skidding to a halt before she continued down the flight of stairs “Give me back my helmet, you big monkey!”

Quickly disappearing in the bush that he was hiding, Max cleared his throat, snapping Kim back to his senses.

Kim ran around to the corner, going as fast as he could and never looking back.

“What the?” Alix furrowed her brows. What did Kim want from her? “Give it back!” she bellowed, chasing after Kim.

As soon as she turned around to the corner, Max quickly popped out of the bush that he was hiding in “Alright, Nathanael, Nino, do your thing,” handing his two classmates a long piece of string, Max readjusted his glasses.

“Ivan, Adrien,” Max pointed towards the entrance “Make sure no one comes and messes this up,”

Nodding in agreement, the two boys quickly exited from their hiding spots and ran towards the entrance of their school, bumping into Marinette and Alya.

“Ah, sorry!” Ivan apologized, extending a hand to Marinette who had just fallen.

“Alright, spill,” Alya frowned, poking Ivan in the chest “W-what?” the large male furrowed his brows “Spill what?”

“What are you boys doing?” Alya asked in an irritated tone “First Kim dashes by and steals Alix’s helmet and now you two are running back inside!”

Ivan pursed his lips, he wasn’t too sure that telling Alya and Marinette that they were playing matchmaker was the best course of action “W-well, you see-”

"You see," Adrien cleared his throat, smiling nervously "It's actually a funny story-"

Kim whizzed past behind them “This is it, make sure you catch her!” Max’s voice cut through, making the four people by the door look curiously outside.

Rounding the corner, Kim easily jumped over the little spring trap that Nathanael and Nino had placed “Get back here!” Alix growled, dangerously closing the distance between Kim and her.

Alya ran outside and peered at the corner, followed suit by Marinette, Ivan, and Adrien.

“Come on, Kim,” Max cheered his friend on, watching intently at Alix as she went nearer and nearer to their trap.

“Hey, you stupid monk-“ something got caught up by the wheels of her skates, and Alix felt time slow down. She had lost her balance and was tumbling towards the ground.

She was falling.

Kim turned around when Alix had made a yelp of surprise, and he instantly rushed towards her. Catching her by the shoulders, Kim fell on his back when he had gripped her wrong due to his other hand holding her helmet.

He fell back first.

She fell face first.

In Kim’s chest.

Clutching at the fabric of his jacket and looking up; blue orbs met grey ones, and Alix felt her cheeks heat up.

Oh, she was falling alright; not just to the floor.

They stayed in that position for what felt like an eternity, and Kim was the first one to snap out of the trance “Uh, hey, sorry,” he blurted out.

Alix shook her head, but didn’t break eye contact “Y-yeah,”

Standing up while helping Alix up, Kim cleared his throat “Ah, t-this is yours,” he mumbled, placing the helmet on her head and latching it back in place.

Their eyes did not break contact for a single second.

And Alix didn’t do anything in the entirety of that encounter.

They stared. Stared into each other’s eyes without muttering a single word.

Then an excited cheer erupted from behind.

“Aww, girl, that’s real sweet, you know?” Alya snickered, pressing the record button on her phone once more, prompting the device to stop recording the spectacle.

Kim and Alix looked behind them “What are you doing?!” Alix growled, her cheeks pink from the exertion; at least, she thought it was.

“Just a little juicy clip to share with our classmates,” Alya teased, quickly pocketing her phone and raising her hands to the side of her face.

“H-hey, no hard feelings, right?” Alya smiled nervously when Alix had loomed closer, malice apparent on her features.

“Give me that phone!” Alix rushed towards her bespectacled classmate, to which Alya retorted by running away.

“You got to catch me first, girl!” Alya sneered, her eyes widening in terror when she had remembered that Alix had skates on.

“Statistically impossible, you would never be able to-“ Max was cut off from his words when Alya started screaming for her life, rushing up the flight of stairs in hopes of slowing Alix down.

Kim stood dumbfounded, and Nino emerged from the bushes and congratulated his classmate “Duuude, that was real smooth!” Nathanael came out as well and stifled a laugh, his tongue sticking out as he frantically drew on his sketchpad.

“How is it?” Nathanael asked curiously, showing Kim and Nino his most recent sketch.

A sketch that immortalized Alix’s fall on Kim.

“H-hey!” Kim felt his cheeks heat up and frantically tried to grab Nathanael’s sketchbook.

“Whoa, dude, chill!” Nino held Kim back, and couldn’t help but laugh “Go show that to the guys, I’m sure they’d be thrilled!”

Nathanael scurried off, while Nino stopped Kim in his tracks “Hey, don’t!” Kim tried to push Nino away, but his bespectacled classmate was standing his ground.

Giving the sketchbook to Max, Nathanael smiled proudly “Wow, you managed to draw it perfectly while it was happening?” Marinette asked no one in particular, awestruck by Nathanael’s piece.

“Y-yes,” the redhead squeaked, absolutely thrilled that Marinette was impressed by his work.

Smiling victoriously, Max readjusted his glasses “Operation: Race, is a success,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear, the moment I saw them having a race in the 'Timebreaker' episode, I instantly shipped them.  
> I know, I'm trash.  
> Ahahah  
> Ehhh  
> Uhh  
> I'm sorry
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed, at least!


	3. Perfect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Perfect sync.  
> Max’s eyes widened in disbelief when he had spotted the numbers that displayed themselves on Adrien and Marinette.  
> Marinette and Adrien possessed the _exact same_ number.

“They’re acting-“ Marinette furrowed her brows, looking behind her to spot the congregation of her male classmates at the very back of the room “Weird,”

Nodding in agreement, Alya gingerly poked the bruise on her cheek, hissing in pain as her fingertips made contact with her skin “I know, girl,” she poked again, stealing a glance to Alix who was fuming while sitting in her normal place.

The pinkette noticed this and furrowed her brows at Alya, to which she replied with a nervous grin and a wave “You think they’re planning a big prank or something?”

“Probably,” Marinette nodded in agreement “But Adrien would never do something so… childish,” she let her eyes fall on the blond boy, sighing dreamily at him.

“That’s Chat Noir’s thing,” Marinette thought aloud, earning her a confused look from her friend.

“What’s Chat Noir’s thing?” Alya asked curiously, rubbing her cheek and wincing from the pain from time to time.

“Doing pranks, being immature, being overly flirtatious,” Marinette elaborated, going on and on about how childish her superhero partner could be at times.

Furrowing her brows in further confusion, Alya raised an eyebrow curiously “How would you know?” the question snapped Marinette back to her senses, and she smiled nervously.

“A-ah, it’s just that, you know-“ she did that wide nervous smile of hers and blinked a few times “Ladybug!” she blurted out, confusing her friend even more.

“It was that one time that Ladybug instructed Chat Noir to keep an eye on me-“ Marinette started, clearing her throat “When Nathanael was Akumatized!”

Alya didn’t look convinced at all “Chat Noir was constantly flirting and joking with me,” Marinette continued, earning her a nod from Alya.

“Ah, I get it,” Alya smiled, but then raised an eyebrow curiously.

“Why'd you go on and associate Adrien to Chat Noir anyway, girl?”

Marinette snorted and waved her hand dismissively “That’s because-“ 

The raven haired high schooler frowned; why _did_ she associate the two of them to each other?

It was a ridiculous notion! Adrien and Chat Noir had nothing in common-

Rowdy laughter cut Marinette off from her thoughts, and she instinctively looked to the back of the room.

The boys were boisterously laughing, patting Kim on the back with unnecessary amounts of force. 

Strangely enough, all of them were having a good time. Normally, they’d all have their social barriers; but all of her male classmates looked like they were the best of friends.

Even Nathanael was in their company, who was strangely not sketching in his little sketchpad. He joined the others in their laughter, and gave a consoling look to Kim as he rubbed his back.

Kim didn’t look like he was enjoying though.

From the noise, Marinette could pick out random words about how Kim was “smooth”, “awesome” or just plain old “cool”.

Kim didn’t appreciate the attention that much, because he had his face buried in his arms; and seemed to be grunting and moaning.

Marinette smiled unconsciously, happy that her classmates were getting along.

As the door to their room swung open, the boys quickly scurried back to their places in a frantic manner.

“Okay, our agenda for today is-“ their teacher stopped speaking abruptly, blinking a few times curiously.

Her students, namely the male ones, were all overly behaved in their seats, nervous smiles on their faces.

“Okay?” she cleared her throat, waving the stack of paper in her hand “We’re going to have a quiz for today,” she smiled, to which the students answered in groans and sighs.

“Oh, come on, it’ll be easy!”

\---

“Alright class, pass your papers!” their teacher beamed, raising a brow curiously when her students had replied with groans and muttered from under their breaths.

“Oh, come on, it wasn’t that hard!” she smiled, earning her more irritated sounds.

“Statistically speaking, ma’am,” Max spoke up, readjusting his glasses “Sixty six point sixty-seven percent of the scope of the exam could have only been answered if one were to have partaken in advanced reading,”

Taking the collected papers from Adrien and Sabrina, the teacher frowned slightly “I did tell you guys to do advanced reading, right?”

The students all replied in disgruntled unison, their disappointment clear as day “There’s no problem, then~” she smiled.

The bell rang and their teacher placed the stack of papers between her side and her arm “Alright, class, don’t forget to read up on chapter seven,”

Waving them off as she reached for the handle of the door, she smiled “Have a pleasant weekend, everyone!”

Everyone started packing their things, and the room suddenly erupted into animated noise. Seatmates and friends alike started comparing answers, telling each other their plans for the weekend, and some reacted violently knowing they more or less answered wrong on the quiz.

Max readjusted his glasses and eyed the four that sat near the door. Alya was freaking out about something, while Marinette, Nino, and Adrien just laughed and consoled her.

Raising a brow curiously, the numbers appeared again. Eyeing Alya and Nino, the numbers in Max’s mind’s eye flashed and blinked, which made him smile a bit.

Taking a glance at Kim, Max furrowed his brows slightly. Normally, his friend would be comparing answers with him right about now, but Kim looked like he was preoccupied with something.

That would mean he was either thinking hard about something-

Or someone; Max thought mischievously.

Seeing the numbers flash before his eyes, Max quickly turned towards Alix and saw that their numerical values were dangerously close; which would mean that their compatibility just went up.

Max remembered seeing their numbers when he had officiated their race, and he recalled them being around a few digits off. 

Smirking to himself, Max was glad he managed to reassess their compatibility.

Strapping his bag along his shoulder and standing up, Max readjusted his glasses once more and scanned for everyone’s numbers. The ones that were nearer to each other signified that the two people were somewhat compatible.

Friendship would come first, and then if they were really close, a more serious relationship would easily develop. Stealing a glance at Kim, who was still staring outside of the window, Max shooed his friend off, with the intention of leaving his seat.

“If you’re thinking of taking her out on a date, go ask her,” he snorted as he passed by his friend “I can help you with that, if you want,”

Frowning slightly, Kim felt his cheeks become warmer “What?” he audibly gulped “What are you talking about?” leaning down to whisper to his friend, Max stifled a snicker “I’m sure she’d accept,”

Scrunching his brows a bit, Max tapped at his chin “Eighty-seven percent sure,” he winked at Kim, who had a genuine look of awe on his face. Clearing his throat, Max gestured with his head “Go get her,”

Tapping Alix on the shoulder, Max readjusted his glasses, slightly taken aback when she had turned around to look at him with a frown “What?” she growled, her arms crossed.

Smiling nervously, Max blinked a few times “Kim would like to have a word with you,” smiling slightly when he had noticed Alix’s features soften for a moment, Max internally patted himself on the back.

Descending downward, Max passed by Marinette and company, giving a quick smile at Nino when he had checked on his and Alya’s numbers once more. Theirs were close, just a few more pushes and they would have been in perfect sync-

Perfect sync.

Max’s eyes widened in disbelief when he had spotted the numbers that displayed themselves on Adrien and Marinette.

“Perfect sync,” he muttered from under his breath.

Marinette and Adrien possessed the _exact same_ number.

“Impossible,” he muttered again. 

Adrien laughed at the joke that Nino cracked up, and his number went up by a few digits.

Marinette giggled along, and hers increased to the exact same amount as Adrien’s.

Blinking a few times and rubbing at his eyes, Max scrutinized their numbers again; they didn't change at all. They were a perfect match.

Mesmerized by their numbers, Max hadn’t noticed that he was staring at the four “Hey, dude,” Nino waved his hand in front of Max’s face.

“You okay?” blinking his eyes a few times in surprise, Max readjusted his glasses “Of course,” he smiled cheekily, adjusting the strap of his bag that hung from his shoulder.

“I’ll be going now; tell the others that the next operation starts after the weekend,” Adrien waved him goodbye and Nino did a mock salute.

“Will do, boss!” 

Glancing one last time at Marinette and Adrien’s numbers, Max frowned slightly. Their numbers fluctuated to the same values; regardless of whatever was happening.

Shaking his head and reaching for the door, Max took a quick glance at everyone else. So far, Alix and Kim, Nino and Alya, and Ivan and Mylene were the pairs that had the closest numbers.

Furrowing his brows when his eyes fell upon Adrien’s numbers again, Max pursed his lips.

And then there was Adrien and Marinette.

Shaking his head and prompting the door to open, his other classmates stood up from their seats and started taking their bags as well.

Kim was being fidgety while talking to Alix; and the pinkette seemed to be enjoying the nervousness that he put on.

Smiling and silently rooting for his friend, Max’s eyes went past Kim and fell upon the two girls that sat at the back.

Juleka’s numbers were, _chaotic_ , to say the least. They fluctuated randomly and abnormally, and didn’t stay still for whatever reason. Then something caught his eye and surprised him again.

“Zero?” he murmured, frowning and eyeing Rose carefully.

Max shook his head and opened the door when Rose had suddenly looked at him, giving him that sweet smile of hers and waving at him.

Readjusting his glasses once more, Max waved back and gave a small smile of his own; why did she have a zero?

Leaving the room and descending down the flight of stairs, Max placed his hands within his pant pockets. He wasn’t surprised just once, but _twice_.

He hated being surprised.

Exiting the school, Max turned towards his home. He pondered on Adrien and Marinette’s numbers; and thought about the implications of Rose’s zero.

Perhaps it would change when he sees her again “Perhaps,” he smiled slightly, shrugging to himself. 

He needed to formulate a plan for the upcoming operation; perhaps Nino and Alya?

But Adrien and Marinette seemed like they were _made for each other_ with those numbers.

Max scoffed. If that were the case, then he would have no problems getting them together in the future.

Plus, it was the weekend. He could discreetly disseminate the operation to the others without Nino and Alya even knowing.

He smiled, absolutely thrilled to get started on his new operation.

\---

“Mom, dad, I’m home!” Max called as he opened the door slightly, silently hoping that there would be someone there to welcome him home.

“That’s to be expected,” he sighed, opening the door completely to his house and entering. Closing the door behind him using his foot, Max threw his bag over to the couch that sat by the living room.

There were sandwiches on the table by the dining area, and Max took one to eat. A single piece of paper was neatly tucked underneath the tray that housed the sandwiches.

“Dear Max,” he read. His eyes scanning the piece of paper with relative ease; Max snorted and folded the piece of paper and placed it inside of his pant pocket “Business trip again, huh?”

Finishing the sandwich, Max went to his room upstairs, flicking his light switch on and prompting his computer to life. He lay on his bed on his backside, slightly covering his eyes from the light that shone from the bulb above.

As a familiar tune rang through his ears, Max quickly stood up and went on his computer, clicking on a shortcut on his home page that led to a program he made himself. All it did was tabulate data; it wasn’t much, but it was useful for most school-related things.

He made five columns, and added an indefinite number of rows. The first read boys, the second read reading, while the third read girls, and the fourth also read reading. The final column read “compatibility”.

Typing in “Kim” and his latest reading to his right, Max also did the same for Alix in the same row, tapping his chin for a while before he finally typed in “High” in the compatibility rate.

Max placed Nino and Alya in the row below Kim and Alix’s, inputting their readings and rating them as “Very High”. Recalling his other classmates, he typed in Ivan and Mylene at the bottom most portion of the table, placing their compatibility rating as “Completed”.

Placing his other classmates on rows accompanied solely by their ratings from earlier, finishing up with Marinette's row, Max was about to type in Adrien's data to the row below her when he had remembered what he saw earlier.

“Perfectly in sync,” he muttered to himself, furrowing his brows. Shaking his head as he placed Adrien in the “Boys” column in Marinette’s row, Max pondered for a moment what rating to give them.

Sighing through his nose, Max readjusted his glasses, his fingers twitching and moving reluctantly. He sighed, typing in the most apt word from the calculations of their numbers.

“Perfect,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Max is certainly not an Adrienette shipper.  
> Nope, he's not.
> 
> I'm so sorry for any of you who were expecting an Adrienette chapter; I really am!  
> -pleasedonthurtme-  
> The story'll get there soon enough, I promise!
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed!


	4. Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Do you like anyone from the class?” Nathanel felt his cheeks heat up and he was about to blurt out ‘Marinette’ when Max had pinched the bridge of his nose.  
> “Stupid question; Marinette, right?” he asked frankly, earning him a reluctant nod from the redhead.

“Ding-“

Max quickly tapped on the switch that prompted his alarm clock to cease its ringing “Ugh,” he got up, rubbing at his eyes and letting a large yawn escape his lips.

“Six forty-five,” he muttered as he put his shoes on, tying the laces. Taking his glasses and framing it on his face, Max readjusted them and checked on the monitor of his computer.

“Saturday,” snorting, Max exited his room and descended down the stairs, his living room devoid of any life and of light. Prompting the lights by the dining area to life, he took a small kettle and filled it to the brim with water; placing the kettle on the stove and turning the fire on.

Stifling a yawn, Max reached for his mug and placed it on the table. Reaching for the box that housed teabags, he took one from inside and quaintly dropped the teabag into his mug. Taking a sandwich from the tray and eating it, Max furrowed his brows about the next operation.

All he did yesterday was tabulate their data. Then fall asleep.

Max snorted. He was the absolute picture of efficiency.

Getting up when the kettle had started whistling, he prepared his tea and sipped at it from time to time; wracking his thoughts for his next course of action.

Nino and Alya were plausible, he thought, and a smile crept up his lips. Discarding the half eaten sandwich on the table, Max returned to his room and took his cellphone from his computer desk, dialling the number of his well-known blond classmate.

“Hello?” Adrien’s voice started “Max, why?” the blond asked curiously.

Descending down the stairs, Max felt the smile never leave his face “I’d like to ask a favor, Adrien,” before Adrien could reply, Max continued “Are you free today?”

“Uhh,” there was a pause, then Max heard Adren’s muffled questions “Yes, I am,” Adrien’s voice returned, sounding a bit pleased more than usual.

“Perfect,” Max nodded to himself, taking his previous seat “Meet me in the park in about an hour’s time,” sipping from his tea as he finished their call, he smiled to himself, dialling another number of his classmate’s.

\---

Exiting his house and locking the door with his keys, Max put his hands within his pant pockets. It hadn’t been more than ten minutes since his last call, but he wanted to be the first one at the park.

Turning towards the corner, Max raised an eyebrow curiously when he had seen Kim right there; apparently waiting for him.

His friend didn’t wear his normal red hoodie; instead, he sported this red and black and white striped polo shirt. Max eyed his friend curiously and stifled a laugh when he had noticed Kim’s hair was down and slicked back.

“Hey,” he muttered, earning him a surprised yelp from his friend “Oh, uhh, hey,” Kim stuttered, rubbing at the back of his head.

“You’ve been waiting for me for a while now, huh?” smiling mischievously, Max laughed when Kim had reluctantly nodded his head “How do I-“

“Look?” Max snorted “One-hundred fifty percent sharper than usual,” the bespectacled high-schooler readjusted his glasses, giving Kim a thumbs up “I suggest styling up your hair, though,”

Raising an eyebrow curiously, Kim started ruffling his hair, effectively regaining its normally spiky shape and form “Better?”

Max nodded “Much better,”

Kim smiled at his friend, but then quickly lowered his face “What should I do? What if she doesn’t like the-“ raising the small bouquet that he had in his left hand, Kim tightened his grip slightly on the flowers.

“I’m sure she’ll love them,” Max analysed Kim.

Semi-formal attire? Check.

Bouquet of flowers? Check.

Kim stuttering and mumbling and acting like a little girl with a crush? Check.

Stifling a laugh, Max readjusted his glasses, a large smile plastered on his face “Ninety-seven percent sure,”

He noticed that Alix just ate Kim up whenever he stuttered like an idiot; which is the reason why he evaluated his success so highly.

Giving Max that awe-struck look, Kim smiled, too “Thanks, man!” he rushed off, stopping in his tracks abruptly and turning back to Max.

“Uhh, do you know where she is?” Kim asked shyly, fidgeting with his hands.

Clearing his throat, Max prompted his phone to life “If I am not mistaken,” he checked the date and time “She is most likely doing her morning skating routine,” walking towards Kim and draping an arm around his shoulder, Max smiled.

“She’ll probably arrive by the immediate area of the park in,” checking his phone again, he prompted Kim to walk along with him “Fifteen minutes,”

Nodding in agreement, Kim shook both of his fists, pumping himself up “I can do this,”

Readjusting his glasses and smiling, Max nodded as well “You can do it,”

\---

“I can’t do it,”

“What was the use of pumping yourself up earlier?”

“I really can’t do it!”

Kim panicked, pacing from one end of the park to the other frantically. Max sat idly by in one of the park benches and watched on with amusement as his friend tried his best to calm himself down.

“Six minutes,” Max called out, earning him a distressed growl from Kim. Clutching at his hair, the tall high-schooler pursed his lips.

“I-I’m going,” he gestured with his thumb, running off to the exit of the park.

“Hey! You forgot the flowers!” Max sneered, amused by Kim when he had shuffled back to come get them “T-thanks,”

Watching Kim’s back get smaller and smaller, Max smiled “Four,”

Kim exited the park and started looking sideways “Three,” squinting his eyes a bit, Max smiled when Kim had taken a left turn.

“Two,”

Standing up from his seat and making his way towards the exit of the park “And, one,” Max leaned on the railing and watched amusedly as Kim had seemingly bumped into Alix.

Max had assumed that there would be a discrepancy in Alix’s normal skating routine; mainly because she would be distracted about a certain someone.

Smiling to himself and patting himself on the back internally, Max was pleased by his accurate calculations; resting his head by his palm as he watched the two of them make awkward exchanges.

Kim reluctantly shoved the flowers towards Alix, and seemingly apologized when he had shoved her along with his gift in the process.

She accepted graciously and rubbed at the back of her head, smiling and reassuring him that it was alright.

Playing with his hands, Max could swear that Kim was blathering like an idiot, going on with incoherent words and mumbling.

Raising an eyebrow curiously, Max noticed that his friend actually managed to ask something that made sense, because Alix looked like she was surprised; albeit pleasantly surprised.

The pinkette nodded her head and stifled a laugh at Kim, taking the flowers in her arms and planting a quick peck on his cheek; Alix looked absolutely pleased when Kim had stopped moving outright.

Alix rushed away on her skates, with Kim following suit; their laughter rang through the streets and Max readjusted his glasses and smiled victoriously.

“Wow, that was adorable,” a familiar voice rang through Max’s ears, and he turned around to look at the source of the voice.

Adrien had a goofy smile on his face, his eyes following Kim and Alix even after they turned and disappeared into a corner.

Oh, how he wished his Lady would return his feelings just like that.

Sighing dejectedly, Adrien shrugged. Guess he just had to wait.

Raising a brow curiously at the blond, Max cleared his throat “You’re here early,”

Snapping out of his daydream, Adrien smiled nervously “Ah, yes. Yes, I am,”

Readjusting his glasses and smiling, Max went back inside of the park “That’s good. I can give you a primer,” taking a seat by the nearest bench, Max cleared his throat again.

“The next operation would be regarding Alya and Nino,” he started, earning him a curious look from Adrien “They have very close numbers; meaning they are compatible to a degree,”

Blinking a few times, Adrien was about to voice a question when Max had cut him off “I will be inviting him over here after the briefing is done, so as to remove any suspicion,”

“Then we can act as if we are having an operation for someone else,” Max smiled, his glasses glinting from the sun.

Adrien nodded in agreement and turned around when he had heard a familiar voice. Smiling and waving at Nathanael and Ivan, the blond slightly moved to the side so as to give his two classmates space.

Readjusting his glasses and standing up, Max smiled mischievously “Alright, here’s the plan,”

\---

Nodding in agreement, the boys couldn’t help but smile to themselves. Max fished for his phone from within his pant pockets and was about to dial Nino’s number when Adrien had suddenly cleared his throat.

“I forgot to mention this,” the blond started “But Alya is kind of, well, no, actually,” smiling nervously, Adrien rubbed at the back of his head “She’s really, really curious as to what we’re doing,”

Furrowing his brows slightly, Max discarded his phone and nodded in agreement “So if we do Operation: Blind after the weekend-“

“That would kind of give off what we’re doing,” Adrien finished for Max “And she would most likely tell the other girls,” the blond’s words made the bespectacled high-schooler wrack his brains for an alternative.

“True enough,” Max shrugged while clearing his throat “So, Nathanel,” all pairs of eyes fell upon the redhead, and Nathanael instinctively shrunk back.

“Y-yes?” he asked cautiously, gulping audibly when Max had raised an eyebrow curiously, as if telling him silently to drop the act.

“Do you like anyone from the class?” Nathanel felt his cheeks heat up and he was about to blurt out ‘Marinette’ when Max had pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Stupid question; Marinette, right?” he asked frankly, earning him a reluctant nod from the redhead.

Taking a quick glance at Adrien, Max frowned slightly when the blond had made no reaction when he had made mention of their raven-haired classmate; especially since Adrien and her had perfectly synced numbers.

He was expecting to at least elicit a frown or a curious look from the blond; but Adrien looked to have no qualms about it.

Clearing his throat, Max shook his head “Sadly, I already have… _plans_ for Marinette,” Nathanel’s face fell and he nodded forlornly, which earned him a tap on the shoulder from Ivan; who had smiled at him sympathetically.

Pictures of his female classmates went through Max’s mind’s eye, and he enumerated all of them.

Marinette? She was already crossed out.

Alya? No.

Mylene? No.

Juleka? Ugh, no.

Chloe?

Max snorted, if he had wanted to Akumatize Nathanael again, that would probably be the best course of action.

Sabrina? Plausible, he thought.

They were both pushovers to an extent. Check.

They both had hair with shades of red. Check.

They’re both pretty reserved. Check.

Max smiled slightly “Do you like Sabrina?” he asked curiously, earning him a strange look from his three classmates.

“She’s okay, I guess,” Nathanael muttered “I’m just kind of… confused why she hangs out with Chloe all the time,”

Nathanael dislikes Chloe; was that a tinge of concern for Sabrina from the redhead?

Max smiled, but then a final girl flashed through his mind-

Rose.

Furrowing his brows slightly, Max tapped at his chin. But her number showed zero; that would mean she would only be compatible to another zero or a person with a laughably low number.

Nathanael may have had low self-esteem, but his numbers were relatively high; due to certain qualities.

Like his above average sketching skills or the cautious nature that came along with his meekness.

But that didn't explain Rose's zero.

Pursing his lips, Max tapped at his chin and thought hard about the implications of her strange numerical value.

She was kind to everyone, yes. She was a scatterbrain at times, yes. But that certainly wouldn't be enough to give her no numerical value.

Or maybe she had a zero because she was compatible with everybody? Shrugging to himself, Max thought it was plausible. She was kind and compassionate to everyone, after all.

Ivan placed a hand by his mouth and whispered to Adrien “Do you think he’s alright?” the large high-schooler asked curiously, eyeing Max strangely when he had started smiling and snorting to himself.

Adrien pursed his lips and shrugged “I hope so,” he whispered back.

“Alright, I’ve decided,” Max smiled as he readjusted his glasses. Opening his mouth to speak, Max was cut off from his words when he was suddenly lifted off the ground; powerful claws gripping at his arms.

“Max!” the three boys down below screamed in unison, looking on with fear as their classmate was lifted off the ground by the Akumatized citizen.

Ivan and Nathanael started to panic, confused noises and words exiting their lips. Adrien ordered them to go hide and ran off; the blond hiding behind the nearest tree.

“Geez, I can’t even get a break, huh?” he asked no one in particular, earning him a snort from Plagg.

“Aren’t you used to hectic schedules by now?” shaking his head and smiling a bit at the response of his Kwami, Adrien readied his ringed finger.

“Alright Plagg, claws out!”


	5. Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Countless calculations happened in his mind and all of them failed.  
> Maybe he was just attacked for no apparent reason?  
> He furrowed his brows; what were the odds of that?

It was a beautiful day.

The sun was out.

The birds were chirping.

Max was starting to formulate his _second_ operation.

He was also just abducted by this giant bird-like Akuma.

Oh, wait.

That wasn’t good.

Looking down below, Max saw his feet dangle and had a _bird’s-eye view_ of everything; he snickered to himself, and quickly shook his head violently.

Now wasn’t the time for puns.

He was probably going to be dropped and killed off by the Akuma, and that wouldn’t be good for him.

That would mean he would miss his classes, be unable to take exams, get low grades-

Wait-

Was he really thinking about _school_? At a time like this?

Max furrowed his brows and looked down below once more, watching as the clouds sifted through his shoes and pants. He closed his eyes for a short period of time and felt the gusts of wind lash hardly amongst his face.

Reopening his eyes and looking down again, Max started making calculations.

The amount of velocity he would make from a fall of this height.

How fast he would plummet to the ground below.

The probability of his glasses flying off as he falls down-

Then, his eyes widened in disbelief, and Max gripped onto the legs of the large Akuma.

He felt his heart race, and a cold sweat started forming on his forehead. His breathing raspy and erratic; Max had started feeling fear.

All the realization rushed upon his mind and he held on for dear life; wanting to scream but found no voice exit his mouth. With lips quavering, and hands shaking, Max closed his eyes and hoped for the best; internally making a silent prayer for the arrival of the two heroes of Paris.

\---

Jumping through rooftops and weaving through metal railings and balconies in a frenzied manner, Chat Noir looked up to the sky and eyed the large Akuma, squinting his eyes as his green goggles zoomed in onto Max.

Sighing in relief when he had noticed his classmate take in everything rather calmly, Chat Noir rushed onward, a glint of light that shone a few blocks away taking his attention. Smiling cheekily to himself, the blond hero quickened his pace and skidded to a halt by the spot he saw the shine from earlier.

Ladybug’s yo-yo had been lodged between the roofing, and Chat smiled slightly. Looking downward, he saw Ladybug; clad in her black and red suit, Chat Noir smiled dreamily, outstretching a hand as she rose higher and higher up the building.

“M’Ladybug,” he curtsied and his smile grew ever larger when he felt her slender fingers fall on his open hand “It’s a beautiful day today, no?” smiling at her partner, Ladybug nodded “Yes it is-“

“But not as beautiful as my lady~” Chat Noir took her hand in both of his and lowered his face to kiss it, only for her to quickly take it away and shake her head “No time for flirting, Kitty, we got an Akuma to take care of,”

Spinning her yo-yo and throwing it across multiple buildings, Ladybug managed to latch onto a chimney and jumped towards it, propelling herself forward. Running after her, Chat Noir sighed “As you wish, my lady,”

As they got closer and closer in proximity to the Akuma, Ladybug and Chat Noir stopped for a second to reassess their plan “What’s the plan, my lady?” pouting slightly at the blond, Ladybug shook her head. Why did he call her _my lady_ every single time he would address her?

Well, that was a normal occurrence; like twice or thrice per mission. But he’s going way over his quota.

“Make a distraction,” she commanded, to which Chat replied with a cheeky grin “Anything for you-“

Don’t say it.

Don’t-

“My lady~” slapping her hand to her face, Ladybug heard a mischievous laugh escape from Chat Noir’s lips. The black-clad hero jumped from roof to roof, planting his staff onto the ground and prompting it to grow in size.

Stopping directly in front of the Akuma, Chat sneered “Aren’t you aware that a bird’s got to leave the nest someday?” the blond scrutinized the Akuma; it had large claws and wings, but possessed the torso of a female woman.

It frowned at him and lunged towards him “H-hey!” Chat prompted his staff to shrink down by a few feet, easily dodging the Akuma’s attack.

His staff rung and he clicked on the small button that was adorned with a green paw print “Hello?” he waited for a response and smiled when he had heard the sweet, sweet voice of his lady.

“Go and distract the Akuma, I’ll be down here to catch Max,” nodding in agreement, Chat shrunk his staff back downward, taking in into his ear and smiled “Will do!”

Ladybug was about to prompt her yo-yo to cut off the signal, but then heard a small 'my lady' at the last second; why was Chat so energetic today?

\---

“Chat Noir,” Max muttered as he remembered the black-clad hero from earlier. Gulping audibly, he took a peek below and quickly closed his eyes, gripping even harder on the beast. What did the Akuma want from him?

Perhaps it was someone he knew? Someone he unknowingly angered in the past? The numbers went by in Max’s head and he thought long and hard about the reason as to why the Akuma had attacked _him_ of all people.

Countless calculations happened in his mind and all of them failed.

Maybe he was just attacked for no apparent reason?

He furrowed his brows; what were the odds of that?

“It’s a paw-some day today and all you’re doing is making it bad for our friend here,” a familiar voice rang through Max’s ears, and he instinctively looked for the source of the voice.

Chat Noir hung lazily on the back of the large Akuma, with that signature smile of his “I suggest you let him go,” he started “Or else I’ll be forced to-“

The Akuma snorted, releasing its grip on Max’s arms, effectively sending the bespectacled high-schooler plummeting towards the ground.

“Max!” Chat screamed “I didn’t mean it literally you stupid bird!” using the Akuma as support, the black-clad hero rushed towards Max; pointing his staff downward so as to give him a quicker descent.

Chat prompted his staff to extend “Grab on!” he screamed, to which Max clumsily tried to reach for Chat’s weapon; finally grabbing onto the end after a while.

Gripping on the opposite end with both hands, Chat lifted it up through the air, reversing their positions “Hold on!” Chat barked, earning him a vigorous nod from his classmate.

Prompting the staff to shrink, Max grew closer and closer to the hero “Come here!” the blond ordered, to which Max replied by wrapping himself around Chat and hugging him for dear life; much to the hero’s dismay.

“ _Time to find out if this cat can land on his feet,_ ” he thought to himself, looking downward and adjusting his trajectory; hoping for the best that he’d land on his feet or on something soft. Or both.

As they fell faster and faster, all Chat could see was the hard cobblestone road, and he grit his teeth.

This is going to hurt-

A whizzing noise ripped through the air and a string encompassed the two males. Inches from the hard ground, their fall stopped and Chat laughed hysterically.

Falling face first into the ground, Chat mumbled something incoherent “Looks like this Kitty doesn’t land on his feet,” Ladybug crooned, jumping from atop the nearest building and untying her yo-yo from the two males.

“Are you alright?” she held out an arm for Max to take, to which he accepted graciously “Y-yes, I’m fine,” he stood up and readjusted his glasses, pursing his lips in the presence of the two heroes.

He would only see videos of them in the Ladyblog, but wasn’t expecting to see them personally in his life; like _ever_.

Chat grumbled and stood up, dusting away at his leather suit “Meow-ch!” he rubbed at his face gingerly, letting out a hiss of pain when his fingers had made contact with his nose.

“Let’s go,” Ladybug commanded “We still have an Akuma to cleanse,” about to leave with her partner, Ladybug and Chat Noir stopped in their tracks when Max had raised his voice.

“Th-thank you!” he blinked a few times, still unable to gather himself from the fearful ordeal. Ladybug and Chat Noir turned to look at him and both smiled “You better go somewhere safe, okay?” Ladybug suggested, as she took out her yo-yo.

Widening his eyes slightly, Max unconsciously started making calculations in his mind; and was surprised, again.

Ladybug and Chat Noir possessed rather average numbers for crime-fighting superheroes.

They also had the exact same number; though that didn’t surprise him that much. They were partners, a team, a duet of justice-

They were probably an item when they weren’t fighting crime and were normal citizens or something.

As the two left the scene and jumped from rooftop to rooftop, Max readjusted his glasses; the same question lingering in his mind.

Why did they have such average numbers?

\---

“Yes, we’re at the park,” Max nodded “I am aware there is an Akuma attacking Paris,” furrowing his brows slightly, Max shrugged “Alright, an Akuma _was_ attacking Paris,”

Ivan sat to the left of Max, his concentration all on the ice cream that he was eating “Yes, yes, we’ll just be here,” Max continued “Ah, right. Do you mind giving Adrien a call? He hasn’t been answering mine,”

“Yes, yes, thank you,” putting down his phone and sighing exasperatedly, Max furrowed his brows. Did he really just get abducted by that Akuma earlier?

Looking down on his hand and then up to the sky, the bespectacled high-schooler slumped down in his seat. It all felt so surreal.

Furious erasing could be heard from Max’s right, and he turned to look at Nathanael; who looked rather perturbed.

Sighing in defeat and letting his shoulders slump, Nathanael closed his sketchpad and slumped in his seat as well “You okay?” Max asked curiously, to which the redhead answered with a meek smile.

“Yeah, I just-“ sighing exasperatedly, Nathanael let the sketchpad fall to his side “I just don’t know what to sketch!” a wrapped ice-cream bar came his way, and the redhead eyed Ivan curiously, who was giving it to him.

“Thanks, Ivan,” Nathanael smiled, taking it into his hands and unwrapping it. The coating of the ice cream bar was a bright orange, which kind of reminded him of his hair; and that of another one of his classmates-

His eyes widened in realization and Nathanael quickly placed the dessert into his mouth, furiously opening his sketchpad and making a quick sketch.

Max eyed this curiously and watched intently as Nathanael sketched with extreme prowess. Ivan felt curious and stood up, going behind the bench and eyeing Nathanael’s work as well.

In a matter of minutes, his sketch was done. Nathanael eyed it for about ten seconds and a content smile graced his features. He let his sketchpad fall to his lap and started licking his dessert.

“Impressive,” Max muttered, making Nathanael slightly flinch in surprise. The redhead felt his face heat up and he shrunk down slightly; completely forgetting that he was in the company of his classmates.

“Whoa,” Ivan smiled “How’d you draw her so well?” the large high-schooler asked curiously, looking on at the sketch with awe.

“Well, you know how Max asked me if I liked Sabrina?” taking a look at his ice cream, Nathanael smiled “And the color of this ice cream just reminded me of her,”

Staring unconsciously at the ice cream, Nathanael quickly put it inside of his mouth when it had almost dripped on his sketchpad.

“So you do like her?” Ivan asked curiously, which earned him a slightly flustered Nathanael.

“Well, she’s nice-“

“Eighty percent of the time, that response means a yes,” Max readjusted his glasses and sighed “If you don’t, we won’t force the matter, alright?” the bespectacled high-schooler smiled, placing a reassuring hand on the redhead’s shoulder.

“Well-“

“Hey, yo, dudes!” Nino’s voice cut through the air “I’m here!” he bellowed, rushing into the park on his bicycle.

Skidding to a halt and putting his headphones down to his neck, Nino pushed his bike onto the nearest tree and made it lean on said tree.

Taking out his phone and putting Adrien on quick dial, Nino returned to his classmates “So, who we puttin’ on an operation now?” Nino smile eagerly.

A brilliant wave of red and black surged through them and the four boys looked at each other curiously. Nino laughed and shook his head “Chill, guys, that’s just Ladybug fixin’ everything,”

Max readjusted his glasses and nodded in agreement. He recalled seeing the same thing when Alix had been Akumatized.

Clearing his throat, Max gestured towards Nathanael, and Nino eyed the sketchpad curiously “Dude!” Nino smiled.

“That’s awesome!” taking the sketchpad in his hands, Nino marvelled at the drawing “Who else did you draw?”

“Uhh-“ Nathanael pursed his lips.

“Just her,” Ivan smiled.

“Just Sabrina, actually,” Max quickly spoke up, amused that Ivan had spoken along with him.

“Still, that’s pretty cool, dude,” extending a fist for Nathanael to fist bump, Nino returned the sketchpad and his smile grew wider when the redhead had returned the gesture.

“So, who’s next?” Nino placed his hands in his pant pockets, speed dialling Adrien once more.

“Nathanael is,” Max reached for his phone and tried contacting Adrien again.

“And?” Nino asked curiously, placing the phone by his ear and furrowed his brows slightly when the line was busy.

Max gestured towards the sketchpad “OHH!” Nino gave a large smile “That’s kinda adorable, dude,” readjusting his glasses, Nino smiled wider.

“You both have, like, red hair,” frowning slightly, Nino shook his head “Nah, she has like, orange hair,”

“But you get the point,”

“Now I’ll explain the operation,” Max started and Nino raise an eyebrow curiously “Without Adrien and Kim?”

Remembering Kim made a smile crawl up Max’s lips “Adrien will be here in a few minutes most likely,”

“But Kim is-“ Max failed at hiding his amusement “Busy. If you know what I mean,”

Nino frowned slightly and suddenly smiled with realization, nodding his head in agreement and giving a wink at Max “I know exactly what you mean, bro,”

“Anyway, here’s the new operation-“

“Sorry, sorry!” Adrien rushed towards his classmates, stopping in front of them and rubbing at the back of his head nervously “Something came up and I had to take care of it,”

Doing a strange handshake with Nino, Adrien huffed “So, what’s the plan?”

Readjusting his glasses, Max smiled slightly “By Monday, we start Operation: Draw your attention-”

Nino snickered slightly at the operation name, while his other classmates smiled at it.

Nathanael had his face down the whole time, avoiding his classmate’s gazes and was flustered ever since Nino arrived.

Looking at his classmates one by one, Max recalibrated their numbers, smiling all the while as he noticed that their numbers didn’t change that much from when he first checked on them.

Eyeing and frowning at Adrien when he had recalculated his numbers, Max was surprised by the blond. Again.

Adrien looked at him with genuine confusion, and gave him an apologetic smile.

He had the exact same number as Chat Noir from earlier.

What were the odds of that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New year, guys!  
> Albeit a bit late, but still-  
> Hope you guys enjoyed!


	6. Zero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Good morning,” her voice came out almost like a whisper, and Max started making the calculations in his head.  
> Zero.  
> Again.

“No way!” Alix frowned and pouted, but the smile she made after a while clearly showed her amusement. 

“Makes sense, though,” she started, shooting a teasing look at Kim “You couldn’t be half as smooth as you’ve been the past few days without Max’s help,”

“Hey!” the tall high-schooler furrowed his brows but smiled as well “I can be… smooth if I want to,”

Snorting, Alix shook her head “I don’t think so,”

“Want to make a bet?”

“Come and show me, you big monkey,”

“Oh, you asked for it!“

“Actually, I handle sixty six point sixty-seven percent of your romantic endeavors-“

Alix’s phone started buzzing in her pocket, and she groaned in response; fishing for it and taking it out.

“It’s my dad,” she huffed, standing up from her seat and wearing her helmet and strapping it on “I had a great time!” she smiled at the two boys in the room, skating towards Kim and planting a quick kiss on his forehead.

“I’ll be sure to help out with your “Operation” tomorrow,” she smiled mischievously, giving Max a light punch on his shoulder.

“Thanks again, Max!” she waved at the two boys, exiting through the front door of Max’s house and shutting it behind her.

Slightly reclining in his chair, Max took a sip from his tea “So, now that she’s gone,” Kim snapped back to reality as soon as he heard Max’s voice. Turning to look at his friend with a slight tinge of red on his cheeks.

“Mind indulging me about your little… _fiasco_ yesterday?” readjusting his glasses and smiling widely, Max snorted when Kim had lowered his head in embarrassment.

“I-it was okay,” rubbing at the back of his head, Kim gulped audibly “Took her to the Dupain bakery,” a small smile crept up his lips.

“They make pretty good cupcakes,” Kim mustered the strength to look his friend in the eyes, only to quickly avert his gaze when Max had started snickering.

“I’m sorry,” taking off his glasses and wiping away a tear of mirth, Max recomposed himself “I’m sure she loved spending time with you,” 

Readjusting his glasses and smiling cheekily, Max took another sip from his tea “I mean, it’s not every day you see _the_ Alix Kubdel going around planting chaste kisses on the resident meathead of _Collège Françoise Dupont_ ,”

Placing emphasis on their school name elicited a wince from Kim, making Max laugh.

“What surprised me the most is the quick development you two have made,” picturing their numbers in his mind’s eye from earlier, their numbers were getting closer and closer; dangerously reaching the point where they’d overtake Alya and Nino’s.

Smiling and rubbing at the back of his head, Kim played with his hands “Th-thanks,” he mumbled, to which Max replied with a snort.

“Anytime,” 

\---

“Well, Chat Noir came along and taunted the Akuma,” placing the plate that he just finished cleaning in the dish drainer to his right, Max shrugged “The thing then let go of me,”

“What?!” Kim stopped in his dish cleaning “Relax,” Max snorted, taking the plate from Kim’s hands and cleaning it on his own “Chat Noir went after me,”

“Then Ladybug caught us both in her yo-yo, and we were good,” Max smiled, to which Kim replied with a sigh of relief. Opening his mouth to speak, Max quickly pursed his lips.

He was about to bring up the fact that Adrien and Chat Noir possessed the exact same number yesterday; but he remembered that his friend had no idea that he could _see_ these so-called numbers.

Kim eyed him curiously when he had stopped talking “Hey, you okay?” the tall high-schooler asked out of curiosity, and Max replied with a snort.

“Yes, I’m fine,” placing the plate inside of the dish drainer, Max waved his friend off.

“Your parents must be looking for you,” wiping his hands on his jeans, Max readjusted his glasses “Thanks for keeping me company,”

Wiping his hands on his jacket, Kim quickly subdued Max with a hug “Nah, thank you, man!” releasing his friend from the hug when Max had started making choking noises, Kim rubbed at the back of his head.

“S-sorry,” Kim smiled apologetically “I’m all up for “Operation: Draw your attention” tomorrow!” sending a thumbs up at his bespectacled friend, Kim made a jog for the door.

“Thanks for dinner!” Kim waved at Max, exiting the house and a click from the door emanated through the building when Kim had closed the door behind him.

Silence reverberated through the now empty halls, and Max sighed “Well, big day tomorrow,” he smiled to himself as he went up the stairs towards his room. 

Opening the door to his room and plopping himself on his bed, Max felt the soft cushion on his face and not soon after, sleep overtook all of his senses.

\---

“Ding-“

Quickly pressing on the button to his alarm clock, Max raised his head from his pillow and furrowed his brows. His nose throbbed and he sat up, taking off his glasses and gingerly poking the bridge of his nose.

Placing his glasses by his alarm clock, Max stifled a yawn and stretched his hands upward. Standing up and prompting his computer to life, he sat lazily on his computer chair, placing his chin under his right palm.

A familiar sound rang through his ears and he was reawakened, his right hand struggling to land itself on his mouse due to his slightly groggy state of mind.

Inputting his password and checking on the time and date, Max furrowed his brows.

“Ah, right,” 

Taking his glasses and framing it on his face, Max exited his room and blinked a few times when he had smelt something nice from downstairs.

Slowly descending down the flight of stairs, Max raised an eyebrow curiously when he had seen his father reading the newspaper as he sat in the dining area table, his feet crossed.

“Ah, Max!” his father beamed, putting the newspaper down and standing up from his seat. Going to his son and giving him a long embrace, the older man furrowed his brows.

“So sorry that we had to leave again for the weekend,” ruffling his son’s hair and placing a kiss on his forehead, Max’s father returned to his seat and gestured with his head.

“Take a seat!” the older man smiled “Your mother is almost done preparing breakfast,” 

Taking a seat as his father instructed, Max furrowed his brows slightly. The whole thing felt surreal; mainly due to the fact that he wasn’t expecting his parents to arrive home so soon.

“Oh, Max, dear!” his mother emerged from the kitchen; plate in hand that housed a large omelette. She placed the plate on the table and went over to her soon, kissing him on the forehead as well “Eat up, now~”

Returning to the kitchen, his mother disappeared, and Max blinked his eyes owlishly when his father had started speaking “You do as your mother tells you,” the older man smiles, gesturing towards the omelette “You’ve got school today, too,”

Furrowing his brows and standing up from his seat, Max turned towards the dish drainer and took a plate and a fork. Shrugging, he returned to the table and started eating. Everything about this felt like a dream.

Taking the omelette into his mouth and eating it, Max felt it melt in his mouth and he couldn’t stop himself from smiling.

That was certainly one way to start the day.

\---

Arriving at his classroom relatively early, Max seated himself and looked around curiously.

Nino sat by his lonesome, his earphones plugged to the side of his head; bobbing his head up and down, left and right, or just simply in a gyrating motion.

Sabrina also sat by herself; looking to be doing homework.

Pinching the bridge of his nose and frowning, Max shook his head. That was probably Chloe’s homework. The poor girl.

Turning to his right, Max noticed Ivan dozing off, while Nathanael sat beside him; determination clear on his face, the redhead’s pen moved vigorously.

Taking a quick look at Sabrina, then at Nathanael; Max smiled slightly.

The two were already in the room, but he needed everyone’s help to make Phase One of the Operation to succeed.

Furrowing his brows slightly, Max reprimanded himself about the fact the he should have said that Operation: Draw your attention was multi phased.

Shrugging, Max thought that he’d just tell them later after it had been initiated.

Rose entered the room and smiled brightly. Squinting his eyes a bit, Max swore that she shone for a second or so.

Giving Nino a good morning, Nino took off one part of his headphones “Good morning!” he beamed as his voice cut through the relatively silent room, making Ivan stir in his slumber.

Greeting Sabrina as well, Rose got an equally silent good morning as response.

Going up the stairs in the middle of their seats, the blonde gave a warm smile at Max, to which he replied with a smile of his own.

“Good morning,” her voice came out almost like a whisper, and Max started making the calculations in his head.

Zero.

Again.

“Ah, yes,” Max smiled slightly in a nervous manner “Good morning,” 

She gave him one last smile before going to her seat, giving an even softer good morning to Nathanael, in hopes of not waking Ivan up.

The redhead replied by nodding his head, not even bothering to look at the new arrival to their room.

Looking over to Nino and doing the calculations in his mind, Max furrowed his brows; his numbers didn’t change from last Saturday.

Taking a glance at Ivan and Nathanael, Max also checked on theirs, and found that Ivan’s numbers stayed the same. Though Nathanael’s increased by a small amount.

Sabrina’s numbers also increased by a small amount last time he checked, and Max sighed when he had compared her numbers to Natahanael’s.

They were a bit far off, but that’s what the Operation was for, anyway.

He was surprised at how large the effect of contact between two people changed their numbers; as he thought about what happened between Alix and Kim.

Reluctantly turning around, Max quickly recalculated Rose’s numbers once more, hissing in irritation when the zero had come up again.

The blonde had noticed this and smiled shyly at Max, giving him a small wave.

Readjusting his glasses and quickly thinking of an alibi as to why he turned around, Max cleared his throat “Do you perhaps have the work text for today’s lesson?”

Blinking a few times and nodding, Rose reached from the inside of her bag and fished it out, beaming at Max as she handed it over.

“Thank you,” Max smiled “I hadn’t the time to read it over the weekend,” he feigned nervousness; when in fact, he had actually read up on the work text and related articles yesterday.

“You’re welcome,” her mellow voice cut through his ears and Max felt a smile creep up his lips.

She was really nice, he thought.

A frown graced his features, and Max opened the book to the page of their current topic.

Numerous probabilities flashed through his mind and Max wracked his thoughts; internally cursing himself for being unable to understand her strange number.

Why _did_ she have a zero?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These two adorable meatheads I swear.  
> I'm really really getting attached to this Kilix thing.  
> I hope you guys enjoyed!


	7. Phase One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Perhaps he was curious as to what it would feel like to have a girlfriend?  
> Or perhaps he was interested in the other redhead and he didn’t consciously know it?

Click.

The door let out a small clicking noise as Ms. Bustier left their room, making sure to give them their homework for the next meeting before doing so.

As if on cue, Adrien and Nino had turned to look at Max; and their bespectacled classmate flashed a small smirk, readjusting his glasses and giving a small nod at the two.

Standing up from their seats, Nino smiled “Hey, wanna check out that new game?” he beamed, strapping his bag on his shoulder.

“Yeah, sounds like a plan,” Adrien smiled back, taking a step back and fumbling with the strap of his bag. He shuffled his feet on purpose and fell backward, his head resting on Chloe’s extravagantly designed bag.

“Get ready,” Max whispered to Kim, to which his friend replied with a nod. Kim tapped Alix on the shoulder and gave her a thumbs up, signalling her to get ready as well.

“Dude, you oka-“ Nino reached out to his friend and quickly retracted his hand when Marinette had rushed to aid the blond boy “Adrien!” she yelped.

Kneeling down beside him and gripping on his shoulders, Marinette helped Adrien hoist himself up “Are you hurt?” the blond smiled apologetically and murmured his thanks.

“My bag!” Chloe shrieked, taking the slightly crumpled bag in her hands. Discarding it into her seat and rushing towards Adrien, she quickly pulled him away from Marinette and cupped his face using both of her hands.

“Oh, good,” she gave a sigh of relief, releasing her hold on his face “Your beautiful face didn’t get damaged,”

Max tapped his fingers on the wood of the table, to which Kim stood up and brushed at his jacket. Strapping his satchel onto his shoulder, he discretely let a hook hang from it.

Going down the steps and bumping into Chloe and slightly pushing her away, Kim tried his best not to smile “Oh, sorry!” he extravagantly turned himself and gave an apologetic smile at the blonde girl.

Tugging on the strap of his bag, Kim felt it heavier than before and smiled “If you’ll excuse me,” he rubbed at the back of his head, maneuvering himself between Chloe and her desk.

The blonde replied with a snort and crossed her arms, distancing herself away from him so as to give him space to leave.

“Um, Chloe,” Sabrina started, pointing a finger at Kim.

The tall high-schooler quickly exited the room, Chloe’s designer bag swinging along with his satchel.

“What?” the blonde furrowed her brows “Can’t you see that my precious Adrien just got hurt?”

“Ch-chloe!” the redheaded girl pursed her lips when Kim had vanished, and Chloe furrowed her brows further.

“Actually, I didn’t get hur-“ Adrien was cut off from his words when Alix had rushed past the three by the middle of the steps, quickly exiting the room as well.

“My bag!” Chloe shrieked, making everyone in the room wince in pain “Where is it?!” the blonde frantically looked around, her eyes falling accusingly on Marinette.

Chloe was about to make an outburst on the raven haired girl when Sabrina had quickly spoken up “I-it was Kim!”

Turning around to look at her seatmate, Chloe planted an arm to her hip and raised an eyebrow curiously “Kim took my bag?”

“Yes! I mean, no-“ Sabrina fumbled with her words and started twiddling with her fingers “It’s more like he didn’t _notice_ that he took it,”

Chloe furrowed her brows “Who doesn’t _notice_ something they deliberately take?”

Shaking her head, Sabrina adjusted her glasses a bit “I-it was when he bumped into you earlier-“

Pointing towards the spot where Chloe’s bag used to be, Sabrina continued her explanation “When he turned around, th-there was this hook jutting out from his satchel,”

“And it just, your bag… kind of got attached to his,”

Groaning in disbelief and pinching the bridge of her nose, Chloe shook her head “Go get it,”

“Wh-what?” Sabrina squeaked.

“I said go get my bag!” Chloe demanded, prompting the redhead on her feet “R-right away!” Sabrina rushed towards the front door.

Max quickly stood up and cleared his throat slightly, garnering him the attention of all the students that sat by the back.

He raised a finger and did a circling motion, and Nathanael nodded, quickly standing up from his seat and rushing towards the back door.

“Ah, my stuff-“ he turned to take his bag but Max shooed him off “Time is ticking, go!”

Pursing his lips and nodding in agreement, Nathanael opened the door of the back door and closed it behind him, feeling his heart beat faster and faster.

Kim and Alix were standing at the end of the hall, whereas the tall high-schooler had the bag in his hands.

Nathanael gave a thumbs up and Kim gave the bag to Alix, to which she started to skate off; and in the span of half a minute, she had easily exited the school.

The redhead gulped audibly and took the other set of stairs, exiting the building as well. Nathanael saw Alix tossing the bag up and down as she leaned on the wall behind her, a mischievous smile on her face.

“Sabrina, huh?” she asked teasingly.

“Y-yeah,” Nathanael rubbed at the back of his head. He was surprised with himself that he didn’t deny the operation.

Max _did_ give him a say in all of this, but he just didn’t feel like backing down.

Perhaps he was curious as to what it would feel like to have a girlfriend?

Or perhaps he was interested in the other redhead and he didn’t consciously know it?

As he felt his cheeks getting warmer, Nathanael was snapped back to his senses when Alix had laughed “I’m sorry,” she stopped playing with the bag.

“I didn’t mean to tease,” the pinkette gave Nathanael a genuine smile, going towards him and punching him on the shoulder “You two would look adorable, in all honesty,”

Rubbing at the place that he was punched, Nathanael lowered his face “Y-yeah… that’s what the others say, too,”

 

“Kim?” Sabrina peered out from the door, adjusting her glasses a bit as she exited the classroom “K-Kim?” she asked louder, holding onto the railing and looking at the floor below.

Spotting the tall high-schooler walking rather slowly towards the exit of their school, Sabrina’s face lit up “Kim!” she called out for her classmate and pursed her lips slightly when he didn’t turn to look.

Making her way towards the stairs and going down, Sabrina was about to call out to Kim again but closed her mouth when her tall classmate had just went through the double doors that served as the entrance to their school.

Furrowing her brows slightly, the redhead followed suit, pushing the doors open and turning left “Ah!” she fell on her backside, her glasses falling off of her face.

“I-I’m sorry!” Nathanael fumbled about, placing Chloe’s bag onto the ground and leaning down to give Sabrina a hand “N-Nathanael?” the redheaded female asked curiously, squinting her eyes a bit.

Nathanael took her glasses and paused for a moment “ _There is a twenty seven percent chance that her glasses would fall off when you bump into her-“_ gulping audibly, the redheaded male stuck his tongue out.

“ _If such an event were to occur, you must apply them onto her yourself_ ,” brushing away a part of her hair by her ear, Nathanael sat the temples of her eyeglasses by her ears “H-here,” he smiled slightly; his smile slightly reminiscent to that of looking at a piece he had just drawn.

Sabrina blinked a few times in slight confusion, and noticed Nathanael seemingly _admiring his work_. Dark emerald eyes fell upon turquoise and the two stood still, gawking and scrutinizing each other’s eyes.

Shaking her head as she snapped out of her trance, Sabrina felt a warmness spread over her cheeks “Th-thank you,” she mumbled, and her eyes widened in realization as she remembered the reason as to why she was here in the first place.

Quickly looking at the bag that lay discarded on the floor, Sabrina reached for it. Nathanael blinked a few times as he, too, snapped out of his trance “A-ah, right,”

Smiling nervously, Nathanael reached for the bag. As his fingers landed on the strap of the bag, Sabrina’s had managed to do the same.

Both redheads jerked their hands back in surprise, and Nathanael reluctantly took the bag in his hand, handing it over to Sabrina who gave him another silent thanks.

Sabrina took the bag into her arms and gave a quick glance at Nathanael. Said redhead was averting his gaze, and Sabrina couldn’t help but let a giggle escape her lips.

“Thanks again,” she spoke in a hushed tone, rushing back inside of the school building and towards their classroom.

“Yeah,” Nathanael raised his hand unconsciously and let it stay like that until he was snapped back to his senses by synchronized laughter.

“Niiice,” Kim emerged from the bushes, a large smile on his face. Wrapping an arm around the redhead’s shoulder and drawing Nathanael closer to him, the taller high schooler ruffled his hair “I’m impressed,”

“You should take lessons from him, you big monkey,” Alix emerged from the bushes as well, a mischievous smile on her face “Now _that_ was smooth,”

As his two companions started bickering about Kim’s “smoothness”, Nathanael let his arm fall to his side; a small smile creeping up his lips.

Painting a vivid mental image in his head, the redhead closed his eyes and let a small sigh escape from his lips.

She had the most mesmerizing dark emerald eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry about the relatively late update.  
> Hope you guys enjoyed!


	8. Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m sorry!” he blurted out, feeling awkwardness encompass all of his senses “I-I didn’t mean to sound weird-“  
> “You have pretty eyes, too,”

Sixty two percent.

That was the chance that Nathanael would fail in the operation.

Leaning on the wall of the outside of their classroom, Max tapped his foot impatiently. Max’s eyes darted quickly from his male companions and to the entrance of their school.

Sighing for the umpteenth time, Max crossed his arms and furrowed his brows, letting out a hiss of irritation.

It wasn’t that he underestimated the redhead; it was just that the numbers don’t lie.

He had already been a bit lenient in the computation, because he gave Nathanael the benefit of the doubt; but the chance of failure was still rather high.

They had an hour break before their next class, and all the other males along with Max were waiting patiently for the return of both redheads.

Ivan and Nino were chatting animatedly about this band that specialized in electronic music, while Adrien rested his arms by the railing while looking intently at the entrance of their school.

Max shook his head and hoisted himself off the wall, standing beside Adrien and mimicking his posture “What do you think?” the bespectacled high schooler asked no one in particular.

“Nath is a nice guy,” the blond smiled and shrugged “I’m sure he’s doing fine,” nodding slightly, Max furrowed his brows when Sabrina had entered the building; her hands wrapped around Chloe’s bag tightly.

She seemed… flustered about something. Her face was slightly tinged with red, as accentuated by the sunlight that seeped through the roof.

A smile crept up Max’s features and he felt excitement course through his veins; did Nathanael actually manage to do it?

Turning his head to the right, Max eyed the group of girls that congregated at the end of the hallway. They were partaking in small talk, and Max noticed Marinette staring at him.

Furrowing his brows slightly, Max left his position and looked at Marinette again.

Ah, she was looking at Adrien.

Turning to look at the blond, Max pursed his lips when he saw that Adrien was still keeping a watchful eye on the entrance of their school. Stealing a glance at Marinette again, who was now being snapped out of her trance by Alya, Max sighed in disbelief.

How dense could Adrien get?

Then a thought entered his mind; perhaps that was the reason as to why they had perfectly synced numbers?

Recalculating Adrien’s numbers, Max furrowed his brows.

Marinette’s crush on him could very well be a large factor in their synced numbers, but it would make a stark difference if the other party didn’t feel the same.

As the numbers flashed through Max’s mind, the bespectacled high schooler frowned.

Did that mean Adrien had a crush on Marinette as well?

Turning to look at the girls at the end of the hall, Max raised an eyebrow curiously. Juleka, Rose, and Mylene were waving at Alya and Marinette, seemingly signalling their departure.

Marinette had her face buried in her hands and Alya did the farewells for both of them. Patting her friend on the back soothingly, Alya’s laughter could be heard up ‘til where the boys stood.

Following the three girls that left Marinette and Alya’s company using his eyes, Max saw them pass by Chloe who stood at the top of the steps, looking rather peeved.

Sabrina rushed up the steps and Max could see Chloe’s surprise and anger at the condition of her bag. The blonde shook her head and made Sabrina hold her bag for her.

Clutching the bag to her side and ascending the steps, Max eyed Sabrina intently as she passed by Marinette and Alya, rushing back inside of their classroom.

Her numbers seem to have risen a bit; perhaps Nathanael’s numbers did the same?

“Here he comes,” Adrien spoke to no one in particular, snapping Max out of his jumbled train of thought.

Quickly turning to look at the entrance of their school, Max saw a familiar mop of messy red hair enter the building.

Nathanael rushed up the flight of stairs located to the left of the boys. A large smile was plastered on his face, and the redheaded artist looked at each and every one of his male classmates.

“I-“ he huffed, and raised two thumbs up “I did it!” he exclaimed with glee, making his classmates crowd around him.

“Good job, man!” Nino smiled widely, sending out a closed fist for Nathanael to fist bump; to which the redhead returned in kind.

Leaning on the railing beside him, Adrien couldn’t help but feel giddy as well “So, how did it go?”

“Well, Alix gave me the bag as according to plan,” Nathanael’s smile did not let up for a second “Then as soon as Sabrina came out, she bumped into me and fell backward,”

“I kind of left the bag on the ground to help her up,” rubbing at the back of his head nervously, Nathanael cleared his throat “Th-then-“

“Then?” Max aksed curiously while readjusting his glasses; all the while scrutinizing Nathanael as he calculated his numbers.

“H-her glasses fell off, a-and,” pursing his lips when he remembered the event, Nathanael’s cheek burned and he lowered his face.

“I put them on her face and kind of stared at her eyes,” he finally spoke up after a few seconds, and silence fell upon the company of males.

“Her dark emerald eyes-“

Nino hollered and wrapped an arm around Nathanael’s neck “ _Duuuude!_ ” Nino kept on laughing, and the other boys started cheering and laughing as well.

Kim arrived with Alix soon after and the two new arrivals joined in on the festivities, with Kim ruffling Nathanael’s hair and Alix smiling and laughing as she skated around the boys.

“So, did you guys, like-” Nino caught his breath and let out a laugh “Stare into each other’s souls or something?”

Snorting, Alix shook her head “They were looking at each other for like a minute or so,”

“More like fifty seconds, shortstack,” Kim interjected, to which Alix furrowed her brows.

“I rounded it up, you big monkey,”

“Pinky,”

“Muscle head,”

“ _Skater-brain_ ,”

“ _Eiffel Tower_ ,”

Adrien started snickering and had enough of these puns, placing both open hands opposite to each other by his mouth; the blond lowered his voice “Get a room, you two!”

“We’re celebrating Nath’s awesome victory here,” Nino’s smile grew wider at the exchange between Alix and Kim “If you two are going to have a go at it-“

Jabbing his thumb towards the opposite end of the school, a mischievous smile graced Nino’s lips “The locker rooms are _pretty_ empty if you guys get my drift,”

Blood rushed to both of their cheeks, and both Alix and Kim laughed in a nervous manner.

Unintelligible gibberish came out from both of their mouths, and their company started erupting into laughter once more.

“Ah, that’s right!” Nathanael rushed inside of the classroom, suddenly remembering his haphazardly discarded school-related items.

Silence fell upon their company and Nino cleared his throat “How’re we supposed to celebrate now?”

An arm suddenly snaked itself around his neck, and someone took his cap “What’s happening here?”

Nino turned to look at the cap thief and the large smile returned to his face.

Alya placed the cap on her head and smiled mischievously “Indulge me,” while a nervous Marinette stood behind her, stealing glances at Adrien every few seconds.

“Well, you see-“

“You see,” Max cut Nino off from his words and readjusted his glasses “We had just learnt of the news that Alix and Kim are going to have a date later,”

“We are?”

Alix elbowed Kim in the gut “O-of course we are!” Kim smiled weakly, clutching at his stomach.

“Oh,” Alya furrowed her brows slightly; not buying the alibi one bit.

Internally cursing to himself, Max didn’t manage to compare Nathanael and Sabrina’s numbers, but at least he could check on Alya’s and Marinette’s.

Nino didn’t seem to mind having his face buried by Alya’s neck area; in fact, he didn’t seem perturbed at the closeness of her to him at all.

Quickly recalculating their numbers in his mind as he started thinking of a better alibi, Max saw that their numbers remained static from last week; their numbers were still pretty close.

“And we were planning,” Max cleared his throat, as his eyes darted to Marinette and Adrien “Planning-“

“Planning what?” Alya tightened her hold and pulled Nino closer to herself unconsciously “A-ah, Alya-“ Nino choked slightly, but was ultimately ignored.

“To invite you guys over!” Alix interjected while she gave a nervous smile at Alya.

Squinting her eyes slightly, Alya pushed away their strange behavior and her mind automatically planned out a little event to make Adrien and Marinette closer “Oh, is that so?” she smiled.

“But wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of the date?” Marinette squeaked, and all pairs of eyes fell upon her.

Laughing nervously, Kim went over to Marinette and draped an arm around her “I-I mean, we’re all friends, right?”

Reluctant nods went around his classmates, and Kim pulled Adrien to him, draping an arm around his shoulder as well “I’m sure Alix’s parents would be thrilled to meet her friends!”

“My parents are out of town, you dingus,”

Releasing his hold on Adrien and Marinette, Kim smirked in a challenging manner “Oh, I’m sorry, _princess pinky_ , I wasn’t aware that they were out of town,”

Crossing her arms and smiling incredulously, Alix raised an eyebrow challengingly “You were just there yesterday, you big monkey,”

Pursing his lips and taking a step backward, Kim was visibly shaken, and he felt blood rise to his cheeks.

Snickers went around him and Kim let his face fall, his mind not functioning properly enough to think of a comeback. Because, frankly, all his blood went to his face.

Placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, Adrien stifled a laugh “My suggestion still stands-“

“Get a room, you two,”

 ---

“My sketchpad,” Nathanael muttered to himself, smiling when his eyes had landed on his discarded bag and drawing materials.

Placing them inside of his bag, Nathanael quickly turned to the door but noticed someone else was in the room.

Looking at the other person out of curiosity, Nathanael’s eyes widened in surprise.

It looked like that person had the exact same train of thought as his.

For the second time in the span of a few minutes, Nathanael’s eyes fell upon dark emerald orbs.

The redhead stopped in his tracks and unconsciously moved towards Sabrina, who was fixing her things by her seat.

Sabrina had stopped doing whatever it was she was doing and gawked at Nathanael as well. His cool turquoise eyes feeling like a magnet to her.

They both stopped by the middle of the steps and Nathanael was about to reach out to Sabrina when he was snapped back to reality.

“A-ah, I’m so sorry,” the redheaded artist lowered his face and avoided eye contact “A-are you okay?”

Sabrina pursed her lips when she was snapped back to reality as well “Okay?” she repeated his question, and Nathanael cleared his throat.

“I-I mean about earlier,” he started, twiddling with his thumbs “When I bumped into you,”

Remembering the event from before made Sabrina’s face heat up, and she was the one who avoided eye contact now “I-I’m fine,”

“Thank you,”

Both of them looked at each other at the same time, and the same mesmerizing spell was cast over them.

Nathanael blinked a few times and laughed. He laughed the hardest that he’s ever done in his whole life.

Sabrina looked at him curiously, but felt a small smile tug at the corners of her mouth.

“Your eyes-” Nathanael stopped gawking and started scrutinizing, well, everything else apart from her eyes “-are just so _beautiful_ ,”

The redheaded female suddenly felt conscious of herself and averted her gaze from Nathanael’s, to which he replied with a shake of his head.

“I’m sorry!” he blurted out, feeling awkwardness encompass all of his senses “I-I didn’t mean to sound weird-“

“You have pretty eyes, too,”

Nathanael felt time slow down when those words exited her lips. Blood rushed to his face and he could swear that his heart was about to burst out of his chest.

Clearing his throat and shaking his head violently, Nathanael garnered a giggle from Sabrina when his hair had become a dishevelled mess.

“Here,” she fixed his hair, parting his bangs to the side so as not to cover up his eyes.

“A-are you-“ Nathanael pursed his lips and looked towards Sabrina. She had a curious look on her face, as if she was trying to look for Nathanael’s question even without him saying it.

“Free after school?” he finally blurted out; Nathanael felt his heart beat faster and faster. This wasn’t part of the operation; but he was sure that this was what Max had wanted him to do if he had the chance.

Smiling at him, Sabrina went over to her bag and slung it over her shoulder, turning back to take Chloe’s bag “I would love to,” she smiled knowingly, taking her leave by the front door.

Nathanael stopped frozen in the middle of the steps, and as soon as the lag from his mind finally registered Sabrina’s response, the redheaded artist felt a laugh of pure joy escape from his lips.

“Great,” he spoke to no one in particular as he made his way back to take his stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh, NathanaelxSabrina was just an experiment; and now I find myself getting more and more attached to it.  
> Hope you guys enjoyed!
> 
> P.S:  
> Skater-brain is supposed to be a play on words for scatterbrain.  
> Hahaha, get it?  
> No?  
> Ehhh..  
> I'm sorry.


	9. Surprises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the numbers began to fly, crash, and burn in his mind, Max’s train of thought was so jumbled that he could make three bowlfuls of alphabet soup with it.  
> Only with numbers, that is.

Sabrina exited the classroom and held onto Chloe’s bag with both her arms, a large and giddy smile plastered on her face.

She had just been asked out on a date!

Well, technically, she didn’t let him finish; but it certainly sounded like an invitation to a date wherever Nathanael was going with his words.

A mental image of the shy redheaded artist flashed through her mind and Sabrina let a giggle escape her lips.

Who knew that _Nath_ of all people would have the guts to ask someone on a date?

And who knew that it was going to be her, Sabrina, of all people.

 ---

Seeing a familiar mop of red hair exit their classroom, Max quickly tiptoed to get a better view.

She looked _giddy_. More giddy than earlier, in fact.

Squinting his eyes and seeing Sabrina’s number flash before his eyes, Max was genuinely surprised. Her number shot up significantly; which was probably due to her currently happy demeanor.

“Uh, hey, Alya,” Nino squirmed from beneath the grip of the bespectacled female, still being ignored “You’re kinda suffocating me with your b-“

As the click of a door resounded through all of their ears, Nathanael froze in place when all eyes had fallen upon him.

“O-oh, hi everyone!” the redhead squeaked, gripping tightly on the strap of his bag. Seeing Alya seemingly putting Nino in some kind of wrestling lock and Marinette behind her, Nathanael gulped audibly.

“What are you guys doing here?” he asked cautiously, hoping to not rouse any suspicion from the two new additions to their group from earlier.

“I’m throwing a party!” Alix spoke up and skated over to Nathanael, snaking an arm around his neck “Do you want to come?” the nervousness was apparent on her face from such a close proximity, and Nathanael eyed his other companions curiously.

All the other males gave their own signals that prompted him to say yes, while Alya just scrutinized him carefully.

“Sure?” Nathanael spurted out, a nervous look on his face “But I thought it was a date?” planting an arm to her hip, Alya tapped one foot impatiently, raising an eyebrow in a challenging manner.

“W-well, it wouldn’t be a date if everyone was coming, right?” Kim interjected as he moved forward, placing an arm on Nathanael’s shoulder.

Both Kim and Alix smiled nervously as they latched onto the redhead, and Alya didn’t seem to buy any of their alibis one bit “True enough,” she trailed off, eyes widening in surprise when Nino had effortlessly broken free of her grip and took a large breath.

Placing an arm on Alya’s shoulder and leading her off away from the crowd, Nino smiled mischievously, turning his head slightly and winking at the others “Y’know, _Lady Wifi_ -“

“Don’t call me that!”

The two bespectacled teenagers stopped walking around a feet and a half away from their classmates. Max crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow curiously, looking at the animated yet strangely hushed conversation happening between the two.

Nino stole a quick glance at Adrien, then made some hand gestures and looked at Marinette in a fluid motion. Alya’s eyes followed suit and a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

Readjusting his glasses and extending a hand for Alya to shake, Nino waggled his eyebrows, eliciting a snort and a giggle from Alya; who happily shook his hand in agreement.

“Alright!” Alya marched back to the crowd, enthusiasm oozing off of her being “What time should we be there?”

“After school?” Kim squeaked, earning him a glare from Alix “At least a bit later than that, meathead!” Kim shrugged in response “We still have to prepare the whole thing-“

“We can help!” Nino jerked a thumb to himself, draping his arms around Adrien and Alya’s shoulders. Gesturing towards the others, Nino smiled mischievously as he turned towards Alya “We can all help,”

Alya smiled back and draped her arm around Nino as well, pulling Marinette to her and doing a similar action to the raven haired girl “Yeah! That way, we can all enjoy the party we set up for ourselves!”

Genuine smiles graced Kim and Alix’s features, and they exchanged glances at each other and couldn’t help but let out a laugh “We’d appreciate it, yeah,” the pinkette grinned widely.

Turning towards Nathanael and eyeing him carefully, Max furrowed his brows slightly. Scrutinizing the redhead, the bespectacled high schooler found no difference in his features and demeanor; which he found strange.

Sabrina seemed absolutely thrilled when she exited their classroom. Quickly recalculating Nathanael’s numbers and moving towards the redhead, Max readjusted his glasses.

“What exactly happened in there?” Max asked curiously, earning him Nathanael’s attention.

The redhead blinked his eyes a few times and his face visibly turned red. Alix moved forward and started animatedly talking about their plans for later that afternoon, with Kim following behind her.

Looking downward and twiddling with his thumbs, Nathanael squeaked “I asked her…”

His numbers shot up as well, a smile tugged at the corner of Max’s mouth.

“…on a date,”

Visibly shaken, Max took a step backward and looked at Nathanael incredulously “Wh-what?” he sputtered out lamely.

Quickly doing numerous calculations in his mind, Max breathed erratically. Perhaps that was the reason why their numbers increased so quickly?

They weren’t on the same level as Kim and Alix yet, but still-

Taking a slightly confused glance at Nathanael, Max cleared his throat “Y-you what?” his question made the redhead flinch “I, uh, asked her on a date,”

As the numbers began to fly, crash, and burn in his mind, Max’s train of thought was so jumbled that he could make three bowlfuls of alphabet soup with it.

Only with numbers, that is.

“Well, I didn’t really-“ Nathanael pursed his lips and Max frowned “What?” was all the bespectacled high schooler could let past his lips. His calculations were going very awry as of late.

“I was about to ask her, but…” Nathanael suddenly smiled, and a dreamy sigh escaped his lips. Closing his eyes and smiling, the redhead shook his head slowly “She didn’t let me finish and she told me that she’d love to,”

Grasping on the railing beside him, Max was _befuddled_ at the strange turn of events that followed suit for Nathanael. He didn’t think that the redhead could ask anyone out; let alone the person he’d just literally been paired up with.

“Hey, Max, what’s eleven times eleven-“

“One hundred twenty one,” Max sputtered out quickly, slowly regaining his composure. Kim pursed his lips at the rather quick and defensive response he garnered from his bespectacled friend.

“Okay?” the tall high schooler furrowed his brows slightly, turning back to the others when Alix had reprimanded him that they didn’t _need_ a hundred and twenty one balloons for the party.

“I-is that so?” Max straightened himself and readjusted his glasses “Well, that’s… splendid,” clearing his throat and shaking his head slightly, the bespectacled high schooler furrowed his brows.

“ _But that was supposed to be phase three-B_ ,” biting at his lower lip and tapping one foot, a thought then suddenly pierced through Max’s muddled mind.

Nathanael had actually asked Sabrina on a _date_.

On his own; of his own discretion.

Max snorted and stifled a laugh. Why was he so caught up in his miscalculations? “That’s great!” the bespectacled high schooler smiled, which earned him a shy smile from the redhead.

“You went and overtaken the phases of my plan, but I commend you for seizing the opportunity,” placing his hand on Nathanael’s shoulder and patting it, Max felt a sigh of content exit his lips.

It didn’t matter if his calculations were a bit off. He _was_ doing this for his friends; for their sake.

Turning around and looking at the excited faces of his classmates, Max felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips. They were all partaking in such an animated conversation.

Adrien was smiling mischievously as he whipped out another bad joke, much to the mixed amusement and chagrin of his classmates.

Everyone was surprising him recently.

And he hated surprises.

Checking on his wristwatch and whistling, Nino tapped on its glass “Come on, guys, let’s go get something to eat before the next class!” the others expressed their interest and followed an already walking Nino.

Adrien talked happily to Alya accompanied with hand gestures; ever so oblivious of the fidgety Marinette that stood in between him and of Alya.

Max eyed him curiously and calculated his numbers once more, doing so and comparing them to Marinette’s.

Their numbers fluctuated at times but continued to stay in sync “You want to join us?” turning around and remembering Nathanael, Max gave the redhead an inviting smile.

“I-I’d love to but-“ the redhead squeaked and shook his head “I’d like to gather my thoughts by myself,” Nathanael turned to leave but stopped in his tracks when Max’s voice had entered his ears again.

“You sure?” slightly snorting, Max laughed at the notion. Just earlier Nathanael had him confused “Y-yeah… thanks for the invitation,” the redhead nodded vigorously and went on his way, descending the stairs he had just went up on earlier.

“You coming?” Kim draped an arm around Max’s shoulder and eyed Nathanael curiously “Yes,” Max muttered as he turned around “What about Nathanael?” the tall high schooler asked curiously, letting his hand fall from Max’s shoulder while his eyes followed the back of the redhead.

“He said he wanted some time alone,” Max started walking forward, and heard a small ‘Oh’ come from Kim.

“Say,” Max suddenly spoke up and smiled mischievously, turning to look at Kim. The tall high schooler gulped audibly at the sight of his friend.

Normally, when Max smiled like this, he had an ingenious plan going through his mind. And ingenious was an understatement.

Well, most of the time.

“Seeing as how we’re _all_ going to Alix’s later,”

Kim froze in place.

“ _Please don’t be about me, please don’t be about me, please don’t be about me, pleeeaaassseee-“_

“What say you we start with Operation: Blind later?” the mischievous smile never left Max’s face, and Kim felt relief wash over him.

An equally mischievous smile graced Kim’s lips as he turned to look at Nino, who was leading their crowd.

“ _They’ll never see it coming_ ,” snickering and snorting were exchanged between the two friends, and their hands both went up in the air at the same time; their fists meeting in a fist bump as they quickly made their way back to the crowd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, I apologize so much for the late update.  
> Hope you guys enjoyed!


	10. Predicament

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frowning slightly when he garnered no response from his friends, Max’s confusion was continually fueled by their nervous looks “What?” he managed to mutter out of slight irritation.  
> “Um-” an unmistakably female voice rang through his ears and Max gulped audibly as he felt a cold sweat run down his face. Turning around to the source of the voice, Max braced himself.  
> “What’s Operation:Blind?”

Their next few classes went on by rather smoothly, with Miss Mendeleiv being rather lenient than usual. Tapping on the porcelain desk that sat in the front of the physics laboratory, the violet haired teacher cleared her throat.

“Don’t forget to turn in your assignments by the end of the week,” with a wave of her hand, she sat down on her chair and silently shooed her students off.

All of them packed their things and exited the laboratory; animated discussions and exchanges about their upcoming event filled the halls of the collège.

“Ugh, what am I going to do with this?” Chloe looked on at her crumpled bag with disgust, holding the strap in between of her index and middle fingers.

An obnoxious ring pierced through the air, and some of the students flinched and winced in pain and irritation.

Fishing for her phone from within her pant pocket and letting the bag fall to the ground, Chloe answered the device and excitedly talked with her father.

“Was that today?” she asked curiously, placing a finger by her lower lip “Oh, I forgot-“

“Maybe you could come pick me up?” a smile graced her features and she squealed in delight “Okay, see you later. Love you, papa!” pressing something on her phone and placing it into her pant pocket, Chloe picked up the bag and shook her head.

“This won’t do,” she hissed in irritation, and her face lit up when she turned to look at a nervous Sabrina “You know what?” shoving the bag into the redhead’s arms, Chloe planted an arm on her hip “You can have it,”

The blonde smiled smugly “You can thank me tomorrow,” turning around to leave; Chloe didn’t even bother to look back when Sabrina had voiced her protests about the bag.

As the bonde’s figure shrunk until she could be no longer seen, Sabrina furrowed her brows and held onto the bag even tighter. Looking down on it, the redhead’s eyes widened in surprise as she frantically opened it.

“But her stuff-“ as she unzipped the bag open, Sabrina was dumbfounded at the contents of the bag-

Or lack, thereof.

Raising an eyebrow curiously, Sabrina was contemplating about the implications that Chloe went around carrying a designer bag without so much as a few beauty products.

Then the small purse that hung perpetually by Chloe’s side flashed through Sabrina’s mind.

Oh, right.

Slinging the bag onto her shoulder and looking around meekly, Sabrina’s eyes fell upon the strange congregation of her classmates.

Literally everyone in her class was there, except Chloe and her, of course, they were all laughing and chuckling and having these over the top conversations that the redhead couldn’t help but stare and feel a smile creep up her lips.

Nino was in the middle of the crowd, in all of his extroverted glory. Smiling and snickering, the bespectacled high schooler felt something amiss and his eyes instinctively fell upon the lone redhead that stood by herself a foot or so away from them.

Scrutinizing her intently, Nino saw her fidget and averted her gaze when their eyes met. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips and he opened his mouth to call her; but his mind acted quick and a mischievous smile graced his lips.

“Yo, Nath,” he said in a slightly hushed tone, beckoning his redheaded friend to come closer. Placing his hand by his ear and whispering something to Nathanael, the whole crowd was confused as to what Nino was whispering to Nathanael.

The redhead tiptoed and looked over to Sabrina, and quickly lowered himself when their eyes had met “O-okay,” he squeaked, making his way through the crowd and towards the other redhead.

All pairs of eye followed Nathanael’s mop of messy red hair, and their breaths hitched when the artist had started conversing with Sabrina.

From the distance, frankly, they were adorable. They fidgeted around with themselves and it looked like they were in their own little world.

A final nod from Nathanael and the two redheads made their way towards the crowd, with the artist quickly lowering his face when he had noticed that everyone was _actually_ looking at the two of them.

“Hey, Sab!” Nino started, making his way through the crowd and placing an arm on Alix’s shoulder “Alix here is throwing a little party, and we thought it’d be cool to invite you,”

Pursing her lips and nodding shyly, the redheaded female smiled “Y-yeah, Nath told me,” she squeaked “You can call Chloe if you wa-“ elbowing Nino to the side, Alix smiled widely “We’re glad you could come,”

The pinkette beckoned the two redheads to come closer to the group, and started explaining their course of action.

Max readjusted his glasses and observed the two redheads; they were conversing with each other, laughing and smiling from time to time.

A smile crept up his lips, and he instinctively went and started calculating their numbers; but stopped at the final calculation.

Seeing the genuine smile on the loner Nathanael’s face made his heart swell up.

That sincere laugh that escaped maltreated Sabrina’s lips sounded like music to his ears.

Closing his eyes and sighing contentedly, Max leaned on the wall behind him and shook his head.

This started out as a sort of scientific pursuit on his long standing “Numbers” project. For as long as he could remember, he could calculate a person’s Number using their various outstanding capabilities.

Of course that would have been subjective to a degree, but he’s been with his classmates for years that he _subconsciously knows_ them without even _knowing_ them.

Seeing his classmates all together, having a great time warms his heart; a feeling he hardly feels at all.

“Hey, yo!” Nino’s voice cut through Max’s internal monologue and the bespectacled high schooler quickly shot up from his relaxed posture and stood straight.

“Oh, sorry!” Nino sneered, placing a hand on Max’s shoulder “Kim, the girls and I’ll be going on ahead to start with stuff,” jerking a thumb to the female classmates that stood behind him, Nino smiled.

“Sorry if I startled you, man,” smiling mischievously, Nino shook his head “You looked like you were enjoying your daydream-“

Leaning in and stifling a laugh, it felt like forever before Nino spoke “Who were you thinking about?”

Furrowing his brows and about to scoff at his friend, Max found it preposterous that Nino thought that he was thinking of someone-

A quick glimpse of a head of golden hair flashed through his mind, and Max quickly pursed his lips. Feeling blood rush to his face, the bespectacled high schooler pushed Nino away.

“N-no one,” Max hissed when he had stuttered “I suggest you should get going,” he calmed himself down.

“Psh, whatevs, man,” that mischievous smile never left Nino’s face “You guys go buy some supplies, I’ve already given Adrien the list,” Nino went over to the girls and waved at the others off.

Readjusting his glasses and clearing his throat, Max went to the middle of what remained of the crowd “Alright, so during the party we’ll be launching Operation: Blind like we’ve talked about last Saturday,”

Frowning slightly when he garnered no response from his friends, Max’s confusion was continually fuelled by their nervous looks “What?” he managed to mutter out of slight irritation.

“Um-” an unmistakably female voice rang through his ears and Max gulped audibly as he felt a cold sweat run down his face. Turning around to the source of the voice, Max braced himself.

“What’s Operation:Blind?” clutching onto the bag that Chloe gave her, Sabrina tilted her head slightly to the side, a look of pure curiosity on her face.

“A-about that,” Max pursed his lips and readjusted his glasses, wracking his thoughts on how to get out of this predicament he had just landed on.

Probabilities of failure flashed through his head as he thought of the most ridiculous alibi’s that he had ever thought of. Gulping audibly, Max cleared his throat.

 _Shit_.

\---

As they neared Alix’s house, Nino had his arm draped on Alya’s shoulder and was talking animatedly with her best friend.

Marinette knew they were rather close, but Nino was rather _clingy_ today.

As the image of Alya putting Nino in a neck hold flashed through her mind, Marinette stifled a giggle. Okay, the two of them were rather clingy today.

But that wasn’t the point, Marinette shook her head and her eyes landed on Nino’s cap for the umpteenth time that day.

It wasn’t like Nino’s cap magically changed color scheme or change designs, but the fact that it sat snugly on Alya’s head for _literally the whole day_ made Marinette kind of uncomfortable.

She hardly saw Nino’s unkempt black hair, and she already saw him without his cap the whole day; and she still felt as if the cap-less look didn’t fit him.

Though the cap on Alya was certainly adorable; it just made it more adorable that it was _Nino’s_ cap.

Giggling, Marinette decided to finally confront the cap conundrum “Hey, Alya,” she jogged towards her friend, and garnered the attention of the both of her bespectacled classmates.

“You do know you’ve been wearing Nino’s cap _all day_ , right?” a teasing smile graced her lips, but didn’t seem to faze the two.

“Oh, really?” Alya looked upward and took the cap off of her head “Huh, I honestly didn’t notice, girl!” she smiled in surprise, placing the cap on Nino’s head.

“That’s probably why it felt windy all day!” Nino snickered, patting his now capped head. Marinette shook her head at how silly these two acted.

They were adorable in all honesty.

She smiled, and her smile quickly fell when Adrien flashed through her mind.

Lowering her face and sighing, Marinette hoped she and Adrien could be like Alya and Nino-

“We’re here,” Alix announced, and all of her classmates looked upward; dumbstruck and filled with awe.

Skating towards the large black gates, Alix pressed on a button and spoke through the microphone; awfully similar to the device by the gates of Agreste manor, Marinette thought.

As the large black gates slowly swung open, Alix gestured with her head “Come on in, guys,” she smiled proudly, as she took in the awestruck faces that her classmates were doing.

“Cool,” Nino muttered, fixing his cap on his head before going inside along with the others.

Stopping abruptly when he had felt his phone vibrate from within his pant pocket, Kim quickly fished for it and checked on the notification.

It was a text from Max.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed!


	11. Alibi

_Shit_

Max opened his mouth, but no voice left it. Sabrina looked at him with complete curiosity, her dark emerald eyes shining inquisitively.

Gulping audibly and clearing his throat once more, Max was about to speak when he was cut off.

“I-it’s a plan about Nino-“ Ivan spoke up, and all eyes fell upon him.

The large high schooler flinched in surprise when his classmates all turned their attention towards him “A-And Alya,” he continued.

Sabrina blinked a few times, some of her curiosity replaced by confusion. Max sighed in relief as he felt the tension leave his body; he felt his legs shake and had to readjust his footing just to keep himself from falling.

Tilting her head slightly to the side even more, Sabrina’s curiosity grew larger and she seemingly asked the same question again without speaking.

“We were thinking, er planning, on getting them together and that’s-“ Ivan rambled on, and quickly pursed his lips when Adrien had let out a laugh.

“Don’t you think they’d look adorable as a couple?” the blond turned the question towards the redhead, effectively making Sabrina forget about her confusion.

Nodding in agreement and smiling slightly, Sabrina had forgotten all about her previous inquiry “I suppose so, they certainly have chemistry,”

Shrugging and smiling wider, Adrien went over to Sabrina “Exactly!” placing an arm on her shoulder; the blond quickly looked at her with all the seriousness that he could muster.

“The other guys and I have been planning to get them together for a while now,” placing his free hand on her other shoulder, Adrien stared into Sabrina’s eyes with urgency “Nothing should go wrong,”

Gulping audibly and nodding her head slightly, Sabrina was surprised at how serious Adrien was about this _Operation_ thing.

Letting go of her shoulders and giving her a toothy grin, Adrien nodded “Promise you’ll keep it a secret?”

“Promise,” nodding vigorously and slightly furrowing her brows, Sabrina made a gesture that looked like a salute.

Clearing his throat and garnering the attention of his classmates, Max stepped forward “Seeing as how the cat’s out of the bag,” frowning slightly when Adrien had let out a snicker, Max shook his head and continued.

“We might as well brief Sabrina on Operation: Blind,” as the other males nodded in agreement, Max readjusted his glasses.

“Okay, Sabrina, you already have a gist of what this so-called _Operation_ is, correct?” turning to look at her and trying his best not to fall to the ground due to the previous tension; Max felt like his legs were jelly and that they’d dissolve any second.

Blinking a few times and nodding her head, the redhead tilted her head slightly “About Nino and Alya, right?”

“Right,” Max smiled slightly “Alright, we were actually supposed to commence this operation around a few days from now, but the opportunity presented itself-“ shrugging and beckoning his classmates to follow him, the bespectacled high schooler started to walk towards the entrance of their school.

“Let me brief you on the way,” opening the double doors of the collège, Max readjusted his glasses “For now, we should go buy the supplies for the party,”

 ---

_“Don’t forget Operation: Blind”_

Furrowing his brows and sticking a tongue out as he stole a glance at his classmates who entered the gates of Kubdel manor, Kim quickly tapped on his phone.

_“Yeah bro don’t worry :P”_

Putting the phone back into his pant pocket, Kim quickly rushed after his classmates; passing by them and slowing his pace when he had reached Alix “Psst, shortstack,”

Sending a glare at Kim, Alix frowned slightly “What is it?”

Looking behind him and seeing that the others were preoccupied with speaking and talking with the others, Kim leaned downward and placed a hand near his mouth.

“Max said he wanted to start Operation: Blind,” raising an eyebrow curiously to what Kim said, Alix skidded to a halt by the large double doors of Kubdel manor.

“I have no idea what that is,” knocking three times on the door, Alix crossed her arms “Mind indulging me, meathead?”

Blinking a few times curiously, Kim felt heat rush up his face “Oh,” he muttered out, and rubbed at the back of his head when he remembered the only operation that Alix was aware of was that of Nathanael’s.

Opening his mouth to explain, Kim quickly stepped aside when the doors had swung open, blinking a few times in surprise.

“Miss Alix,” an elderly man greeted the pinkette, gesturing for her to come in.

“Hey Francoeur,” Alix smiled “I brought some friends over, would you kindly prepare some food for us?” nodding at the request, Francoeur turned to take his leave but stole a glance at Kim, smiling slightly when the tall high schooler flinched in surprise.

“Come on in, guys!” Alix hollered, effectively making her classmates rush excitedly towards the doors and enter the large building right after her.

A collection of astonished gasps and looks of awe resonated through the group as they all observed and scrutinized the interior of Kubdel manor.

Alix skated in a leisurely pace, a cheeky smirk on her face “Nice place you got here, Alix,” Nino whistled and placed both of his arms behind his head.

“Thanks,” she replied proudly, turning towards the right of the large flight of stairs affixed to the middle of the immediate area. Skating towards the end of the hall, Alix pushed the glass sliding door to the side and removed her skates.

“This place should do, right?” planting both of her arms on her hips, her smile grew when her classmates had voiced their excitement at their venue.

“A greenhouse?!” Rose squealed with delight at the spectacle. Green was mostly the color that the eye could catch within the quaint room, while the low afternoon sun seeped through the transparent ceiling.

“Yep,” Alix turned to the side and gestured for her classmates to come in. Excited chatter resounded through the plant-filled room and all of them frantically went around; checking and smelling and admiring the different flora.

“Why this place?” Kim asked curiously, leaning on the frame of the glass door.

“It’s spacious,” Alix started, tapping Kim on the shoulder “Plus it’s cool in here when it’s night time,” beckoning the tall high schooler to come with her, Alix gestured with her head “Come on, let’s go get some tables and chairs,”

 ---

“That’s the last of it,” Nathanael smiled as he exited the store, the bell by the door doing a quaint little chime. Hugging the paper bag that was filled with party related stuff, the redhead turned to look at Max “Right?”

Nodding his head in agreement and checking at his phone for the time, Max pointed towards the next street “We should get going, so that we can help with the preparations,”

About put his phone back into his pocket, Max flinched in surprised when it had suddenly rung in his hand.

Turning to look at it, Nino was calling “Hello?” readjusting his glasses and pressing his phone by his ear, Max started.

“ _Oh, hey, what’s up?_ ” excited exchanges could be heard on the other end “We just finished buying the last of the supplies,” Max explained.

“ _Cool, cool, see you in a few, man_ ,” female laughter rung through Nino’s call, and followed by amused noises “ _Hey, give it back!_ ” Nino’s voice sounded more pleased than irate, which made Max slightly furrow his brows.

Ending the call and placing his phone inside of his pocket, Max gestured with his head “Let’s get going,”

“Who was that?” Adrien asked curiously, turning to look at his bespectacled classmate.

“It was Nino,” readjusting his glasses and taking one paper bag from Ivan, Max started “He was just checking up on us,”

Nodding his head in agreement, Adrien continued to walk “But what if it doesn’t work out?” Sabrina’s curious tone made all of her male companions turn to look at her, making her squeak an apology.

“If what doesn’t work out?” Max asked curiously, raising an eyebrow at the female redhead.

“The, uh, operation,” Sabrina stuttered out meekly.

Snorting and shaking his head, Max was about to explain that Nino and Alya’s numbers were so close to each other that their chances of getting together was more than ensured.

Opening his mouth to speak, Max stopped and quickly pursed his lips.

If he were to make an explanation about that, then everyone would be curious about these so-called _numbers_.

Turning to look at Sabrina and giving her a small smile, Max shrugged “I suppose we’ll all just have to try harder next time,”

Sounds of approval and agreement went around, and Adrien snickered “I’m sure it’ll be fine-“

The blond smiled reassuringly at all of his companions “I mean, the two of them are practically perfect for each other, right?”

Smiles graced all of their faces and Max squinted his eyes a bit, unconsciously calculating Adrien’s number.

A picture of Marinette flashed through his mind’s eye and Max snorted to himself.

Adrien and Marinette’s continuous number syncing left him more curious than irate now; and Max was going to get to the bottom of this _anomaly_.

As they rounded the corner and Max’s eyes fell upon the large Kubdel manor, the bespectacled high schooler prompted his companions to stop before the large black gates.

“Operation: Blind start,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry about the really late update, everyone.  
> Classes have just resumed on my end and the past week has been rather hectic already.  
> I'll try to update as soon as I possibly can.  
> Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed!


	12. Preparation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Oh, dude!” Nino slung his arm around Adrien’s shoulder, readjusting his cap on his head “Glad you could make it,”  
> “You only say that when someone comes to a party or the like!” Alix snapped, making Nino raise his hands in the air “But… this _is_ a party,”  
>  Stomping towards the DJ, Alix stared him in the eyes “It could have been if you two weren’t lollygagging!”

_“Yes?_ ”

“We’re here to visit Alix,” Max quipped, leaning down closer so as to give him better leverage in hearing the rather muffled replies coming from the device.

 _“Ah, her friends,”_ the large black gates of Kubdel manor slowly swung open “ _Please do come in, miss Alix and the others are in the botany station_ ,”

“The what?” Adrien asked no one in particular, following after Max as the bespectacled high schooler entered the grounds of Kubdel manor.

Walking up towards the large doors of the equally large building, Max stopped his fist before it made contact with the wood of the door “You all remember what to do?”

A chorus of nods shifted through his classmates and Max smiled “Alright,” knocking on the door and becoming visibly surprised when it had suddenly swung open before he could make a third knock, Max took a step back.

“Good afternoon,” Francoeur greeted, gesturing at the students to come inside “Please, do come in,"

Entering one by one, they all similarly looked at the interior of the manor with awe. Adrien was the last to enter and looked at the elderly butler curiously.

“Francoeur?” he muttered, and the older man smiled “Master Agreste,”

The blond’s face lit up and he beamed “It is you!” planting his hands on his hips, Adrien’s excitement didn’t let up for a second “You’re still working here?”

“Yes, indeed,” the elderly man replied with a nod and a smile of his own. Whistling, the blond looked around “This place doesn’t look like it changed much,”

“How are you?” Adrien asked inquisitively, earning him a chuckle from the older man “I’m fine, thank you for asking,”

“Your friends are looking for you,” Francoeur gestured towards Max and the others, who had stopped walking around a few feet from them when they had noticed the lack of Adrien’s presence.

“Oh, right,” rubbing at the back of his head nervously, Adrien smiled one last time at the older man “I’m glad to see you’re okay,”

“Likewise,” Francoeur bowed his head a little “If you would excuse me, master Agreste, I am preparing snacks for all of you,” turning around to take his leave, the older man left the premises by entering another hallway.

Adrien’s smile did not let up for a moment, and he jogged back to his friends “What was that about?” Max asked curiously, making Adrien smile nervously.

“That was Francoeur,” the blond started “He used to work for my family but left shortly after my mom-“ pursing his lips and gulping audibly, Adrien lowered his face “But left when I was still a kid,”

“I heard news that he was working for the Kubdel’s but I didn’t think he’d still be here,” regaining his composure, the blond’s smile returned to his face.

“They’re over here!” Ivan hollered, waving to his classmates as he stood by the side of the large staircase.

Adrien and the others rushed over to where their large classmate stood, and all of their jaws fell at the quirky scene that presented itself to them.

“Come on, four eyes!” Kim taunted, rushing past Ivan and the others while waving Nino’s cap with his hand.

The bespectacled high schooler passed by the newly arrived group, a confident grin on his face “Hey, give it back!”

All the girls stopped by the entrance of the small greenhouse, amused smiles on their faces as they watched the two boys run around each other in circles by the lobby.

“Great, you guys are here!” Alya greeted, clasping her hands together and taking the paper bag that Adrien held, giving it quickly to Marinette.

“You and Adrien could get started working on that,” the bespectacled female smiled, pushing Adrien towards the raven-haired girl to the point where Marinette fumbled her protests before shortly making contact with the blond’s chest.

“Okay,” Adrien smiled in an agreeing manner, glancing down at Marinette and effectively making her jump back and mumble her apologies.

“S-sorry-“ Marinette fumbled one more time, hugging the paper bag “We sh-should get started,” she rushed off within the botany station, making Adrien smile a bit.

Entering the small greenhouse, Adrien looked on with awe at the sheer diversity of the flora that was housed within the room. Taking small steps and admiring the cacophony of colors that assaulted his eyes, the blond couldn’t help but feel a smile tug at the corner of his mouth.

As he quickly surveyed the room, his eyes fell upon a mop of raven hair. Raising an eyebrow curiously as he watched Marinette empty the contents of the paper bag onto the table, he noticed a small smile on her lips.

They looked so soft and inviting.

Eyes widening in surprise and shaking his head violently, Adrien felt blood rise to his cheeks; did he _seriously_ just think that?

The blond wanted to stop staring, but was utterly captivated by Marinette. Something about her features reminded him so much of his lady-

Her cute pigtails, that adorable button nose, her pink lips; not to mention her brilliant blue eyes.

Furrowing his brows slightly, Adrien looked on with awe as the orange light that seeped into the room accentuated the blue of Marinette’s eyes; they shone like the stars and pulled him in like a black hole.

Staring for far too long, Adrien flinched in surprise when Marinette had made eye contact with him; emerald orbs glued to azure ones for what felt like an eternity.

“Stop messing around!” a familiar voice cut through the silence within the botany station “We still have to prepare this party!” Alix entered the room and roughly placed a table near the door, grumbling to herself.

Turning around to look at the scene curiously, Adrien saw that Kim had rushed back to the doorway of the small greenhouse and smile apologetically, rubbing nervously at the back of his head.

The reprimands from Alix answered with sheepish comments from Kim came but a muffled mess to Adrien’s ears; as he remembered staring into Marinette’s mesmerizing azure orbs. Glancing behind him for one more look at the raven-haired girl, emerald eyes fell upon brilliant blue ones once more.

Marinette waved her hand and smiled nervously, quickly preoccupying herself with the various party favors that littered the table in front of her.

“Oh, dude!” Nino slung his arm around Adrien’s shoulder, readjusting his cap on his head “Glad you could make it,”

“You only say that when someone comes to a party or the like!” Alix snapped, making Nino raise his hands in the air “But… this _is_ a party,”

Stomping towards the DJ, Alix stared him in the eyes “It could have been if you two weren’t lollygagging!”

“Hey, shortstack, calm down-“ Kim pursed his lips and did a similar gesture to Nino, slightly raising his arms in defeat when Alix had turned around and started glaring daggers at the taller male.

“Whoops-” Nino feigned ignorance and shoved Alix away using the sole of his shoe, making all the occupants of the room gasp in surprise when the pinkette had fallen forward-

Only to make contact with Kim’s large figure.

Still keeping his mouth shut, the large high schooler fumbled about, taking a good second or two before wrapping his arms around Alix; the grunt that he had elicited from her made him quickly discard his hands and opted to place it on her shoulders instead.

“I’m sorry, pinky,” Kim decided that he wanted to wrap Alix in his arms again, much to her chagrin. The large high schooler’s eyes widened in realization when a chorus of “Aw’s” and “How adorable’s” entered his ears; he completely forgot that they weren’t alone.

“Yeah, sorry,” Nino made it worse by coming over and wrapping Alix in a hug as well, barely being able to embrace Alix’s small frame and Kim’s large one.

“Hey!” Alya smiled, rushing over to the three and going behind Nino, wrapping her arms around his chest, now their classmates made differing sounds of confusion.

“I’m out,” Adrien raised his arms in defeat, mockingly maneuvering himself around the bundle of hugs that stood near the doorway; squeezing himself between Kim and the entrance.

“Should we stop them?” Nathanael asked incredulously, looking perturbed at the spectacle. If he were completely honest, though, he would love to join that little hug pile.

“We should,” Juleka deadpanned, looking unamused mixed with a tinge of disgust “Affection, ugh,”

Shaking an index finger and frowning at her friend, Rose shook her head “Oh come on, Juleka,” she beamed, clasping her hands together before making her way to Kim and the others “I think it’s adorable!”

Wrapping her arms around Kim’s chest, Rose carefully avoided poking Alix in the face; intertwining her fingers when she had found a comfortable position.

The five people stood in relatively enjoyable silence; apart from Alix’s growls of displeasure from time to time.

“The average time for a hug is three seconds,” Max readjusted his glasses, leaning on the wall behind him “And they’ve well gone off that three second mark,”

Looking at him and nodding, the others returned their attention back to the spectacle, embarrassed to go in, but wanting to join.

Adrien smiled nervously at the scene and took a quick glance at Marinette, who was looking at the five with a similar expression to her own.

A thought entered his mind, and the blond beamed. About to call out to the raven-haired female, he was cut off when Alix had broken free from the hugs.

“Okay, okay, that’s enough,” she huffed a bit, a tinge of pink on her cheeks “Let’s continue setting this party up,” a chorus of agreeing statements resonated through the group, and Alix started delegating various roles for each and every member of their group.

Going on their merry ways and doing their delegated tasks, Max shot a nod at Kim, who replied with a large smile and a thumbs up.

Before entering the botany station, the bespectacled high schooler shot quick glances at all his other conspirators; letting a smile grace his lips when they all gave a nod of approval or a gesture of agreement.

Readjusting his glasses and making his way to Nino, Max placed both of his hands behind his back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, here's the update; I apologize for the lateness again!  
> Hope you guy enjoyed!


	13. Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Seven and a half minutes-“ Max started, tapping on his wristwatch “Make sure they both get pushed into the middle of the room as soon as the slow song starts,”  
> Alix struck him a mischievous grin while Kim raised a thumbs up to his friend, relieving Max “I’m counting on you two,”

Ambling towards Nino, Max shook his head as he felt himself smiling; it was the first time that he was going to initiate a plan without telling the person directly involved, and that lack of information meant that he could not calculate the success of said plan.

For some strange reason, he was quite _thrilled_ to see how things will unfold.

Nino stood by his lonesome as the others went in and out of the room bringing various things while setting up the party “Hey,” Max started, readjusting his glasses.

“Oh, hey, dude!” Nino smiled, bobbing his head up and down as he listened to his music “You’re the one in charge of the music, right?” Max feigned innocence, making Nino remove one part of his headphones.

“Yeah, dude,” the DJ smiled proudly “Makin’ a playlist right now,” nodding in agreement at his words, Max whistled “Would you mind-“

Nino looked at him curiously and raised an eyebrow “Putting in a slow song-“ Max started, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips “For… _you know_ ,”

Furrowing his brows slightly at the suggestive tone that Max used, Nino’s eyes widened in realization and a large smile graced his lips. Moving forward and covering his mouth, Nino looked around “ _Is there, like, another operation?_ ”

Max nodded with a knowing smile on his face, making Nino exclaim in glee “Alright!”

Pursing his lips when some of his classmates turned to look at him with confused looks, Nino grinned widely “I got ya covered, bro,” pointing to himself, Nino started furiously tapping on his phone “I’m going to build up the mood so much then-“

“BAM!” he exclaimed, pressing something on his phone using his index finger “So, who’re we pairing up tonight?” planting an arm on his hip and smiling, Nino discarded his phone into his pant pocket, looking expectantly at his fellow bespectacled high schooler.

“It will be a surprise,”

 ---

Around half an hour after Alix had delegated tasks to everyone, the whole room was flashing and shining with different colors. Streamers littered the immediate area and music pumped from Nino’s portable speakers.

There were refreshments and food ready to be taken on a long table by the entrance of the small greenhouse, and various tables coupled with a pair of chairs were scattered all around the room.

Sitting on a chair with his legs crossed, Max had his cheek resting on his fist as his elbow rested on the wood of the table “So, approximately what time does the… _song_ come on?” he asked carefully, looking around and surmising that everyone was busy doing their own thing.

Checking on his phone and being careful so as to not pause the music or remove the cord, Nino smiled “Around seven and a half minutes from now,” Max nodded at him and smiled, standing up from his seat and going towards Alix and Kim; who were supervising more than anything else.

“Seven and a half minutes-“ Max started, tapping on his wristwatch “Make sure they _both_ get pushed into the middle of the room as soon as the slow song starts,”

Alix struck him a mischievous grin while Kim raised a thumbs up to his friend, relieving Max “I’m counting on you two,” he waved them off, making his way towards Adrien who was conversing with Alya and Marinette.

Clearing his throat, Max smiled “Ladies would be so kind as to let me borrow Adrien for a while?” a flash of annoyance appeared on Alya’s face when Marinette had suddenly seemed distraught over something “Sure,” she smiled slightly, waving the two boys off.

Walking off and gesturing for Adrien to come closer, Max looked around “Seven minutes from now, the song would turn slow,” raising an eyebrow curiously, Adrien had failed to comprehend the implications of the song to their operation.

“I would like you to keep Nino near the middle of the room,” gesturing towards the other bespectacled high schooler behind them, Max continued “And push him in when the seven minute mark comes,” nodding in agreement, Adrien furrowed his brows a bit.

“What about Alya?” the blond asked curiously, earning him a pat on the shoulder “I’ll make sure she gets into place, don’t worry,” smiling at the response, Adrien was quickly pulled back to his previous company when Max had turned around to leave.

Making his way towards Nathanael and Sabrina, who were sitting by the table nearest to the exit, Max placed a hand on the wood of the table which earned him a surprised yelp from the sketching redhead “Change of plans,” he stated frankly, making the two redheads look up to him with confusion.

“Adrien will handle Nino,” he jerked his head backward, gesturing towards the blond who was conversing with Alya, Marinette, and the newly arrived Nino “You two try to take Alya’s attention and Kim and Alix will do the rest,”

Closing his sketchpad in a defensive manner, Nathanael squeaked “How exactly?” he asked curiously, eliciting a thoughtful look from Max “Hmm…”

Looking at Nathanael’s sketchpad then to Alya, Max calculated the odds that she would take their bait-

“Ninety-nine point six,” he muttered out, eyes widening in surprise. That was the first time he had managed to calculate a success rate so high about, well, anything “Okay,” he turned back to the two redheads, placing both of his hands on the table.

“Around six and a half minutes from now, the song would have changed to that of a slow and romantic one-“ Max started, alternating his gaze from the two redheads “I’d like you two get Alya’s attention before those six and a half minutes are up,”

“But you still didn’t tell us how,” Nathanael pouted a bit, making Sabrina let loose a giggle.

“Right,” Max smiled sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his head “Raise your voices about Ladybug or Chat Noir-“ the bespectacled high schooler started, readjusting his glasses “But preferably Ladybug,”

Raising an eyebrow curiously, Nathanael was cut off from his words when Max had suddenly pointed towards his sketchpad “Make a sketch of Ladybug and or Chat Noir then act like you’re frustrated because you can’t remember their design or designs-“

“And if Alya hears that, she’ll be sure to bombard you with Ladybug reference pictures or videos,” Max smiled, a glint of accomplishment shone on his glasses “Oh, okay,” Nathanael smiled back, nodding his head with an uncharacteristic fervor.

Rising from his lean on the table, Max looked towards Kim and Alix, who were surveying the whole room intently, their backs against the wall while Kim had his arms crossed and Alix had her hands inside of her pockets. Stealing a glance at Adrien’s direction, Max’s eyes fell upon emerald ones, and the blond gave a nod of approval.

“Perfect,”

 ---

Five minutes had passed before Nathanael and Sabrina started making a small scene, pretending to wrack their thoughts to remember how exactly Ladybug looked like “I really _don’t_ remember what _Ladybug_ looked like!” the redheaded artist slightly raised his voice.

“Ladybug?!” Alya’s ears perked up and she looked around in a frenzy “It’s simple! Red suit with black-“ Sabrina’s strangely loud voice cut through the hyperactive music, and Alya couldn’t contain her energy “Girl, I’ll be back,” she pat Marinette on the shoulder before rushing off.

"W-wait!" Marinette squeaked, clasping her hands together when Alya had seemingly ditched her “What’s gotten her all fired up?” Adrien asked incredulously, earning him a snort from Nino “Dunno, dude,”

“Did you say Ladybug?!” Alya slammed both of her hands on the table, making the two redheads shriek in surprise “… Y-yes?” Nathanael gulped audibly, fidgeting with his hands in the process “I f-forgot what color scheme she had-“

Blinking her eyes a few times, Alya snorted “Oh, that’s simple!” waving her hand dismissively, she took out her phone and stuck her tongue out, swiping through her pictures to find the best reference for the artist to use “Here,” she smiled, handing Nathanael her phone, which showcased Ladybug in all her glory as she was about to swing up a building.

“That’s a good shot,” Sabrina squeaked, easily inflating Alya’s ego “I know, girl!” she smiled wider “That was after they beat that one akuma with the-“

“It’s almost time,” Kim whispered, earning him a nod from Alix. The tall high schooler looked around and a smile crept up his lips when everyone seemingly fell into place. Alya stood right behind the middle of the room, while Nino, Adrien, and Marinette stood around a feet and a half from her.

“Let’s go,” the two reattached themselves from the wall and moved forward, with Alix skating past the two redheads and Alya “Oh, hey, Nath!” Kim smiled widely, placing an arm on the redheaded artist’s shoulder “What’re you sketching?”

“Just a quick sketch of Ladybug,” he smiled sheepishly, coloring in the white parts of her suit “Alya’s here to help me with her color scheme,” nodding his head in mock agreement, Kim rubbed at his chin “Say, would you mind showing me that sketch you made of me and Alix?”

“You mean the one I took a picture of?” Alya interjected, earning her a nervous smile from Kim “Y-yeah, that one-“ fumbling with his sketchpad, Nathanael flipped through the pages and accidentally stopped by a half-finished sketch of Sabrina’s face.

“U-um-“ Nathanael squeaked, feeling blood rush to his face “Whoa,” Kim and Alya had both of their mouths open, only to be quickly replaced by large smiles “That’s pretty good, red,” Kim took the sketchpad in his hands, much to the mild chagrin of Nathanael.

“So~” Alya smiled mischievously, taking her phone from the redheaded artist “What’s this about, _Nath_?” Nathanael shook his head furiously and waved his hands in front of his face “I-It’s nothing!” shoving the sketchpad into Sabrina’s face, Kim guffawed “Nath’s pretty good, huh?”

“Y-yeah,” Sabrina shied away, stealing a glance at the flustered Nathanael before looking downward. Whistling, Alya elbowed Kim “My, what a strange development,”

Kim shook his head “ _You have no idea_ ,”

As the song’s overexcited nature slowly died down, Nino’s ears perked up and a renewed excitement coursed through his veins “ _Where’s Max_?” he spoke internally, looking around trying to find the other bespectacled high schooler.

As their eyes met, Max smiled, pointing towards his wristwatch “Alright!” Nino muttered out, earning him curious looks from both Adrien and Marinette “Alright what?” the raven haired girl asked curiously, tilting her head slightly to the side.

Smiling instead of giving her a verbal answer, Nino’s eyes widened in realization when he fit all of the pieces together; apart from him and Max, the only one who could possibly have an Operation would be Adrien. And judging from the fact that he was told to put in a slow song, could mean that Max wasn’t making an Operation for him.

But who could Adrien be paired with? Rose? Juleka? Alya? The last option left a bad taste in his mouth, and as the next song slowly crept up into the playlist, Nino understood.

It was Marinette.

A wide smile graced his features and frankly, Adrien and Marinette were kind of confused about Nino’s rather strange behavior the last few seconds “You two, huh?” the DJ smiled mischievously, elbowing his blond friend “Finally! Took you long enough, man!”

“What?” Adrien smiled playfully, elbowing Nino back “What are you talking about?” elbowing the blond again, Nino shook his head and laughed “Hey Alya!” he called out, easily earning him the attention of the bespectacled female.

“Here’s the sketchpad, Alya- whoops!” Kim shoved the sketchpad into Alya’s arms as soon as she turned around, sending her stumbling forward.

“Alya!” excitement was quickly replaced with adrenaline in Nino’s veins, and he took one step forward, before stumbling himself. Alix had skated by, bumping into Adrien, making the blond push his bespectacled friend forward.

“Crap,” Alix feigned concern and managed to grab onto Adrien’s right arm, while a quick Marinette grabbed onto his left hand.

Time seemed to slow down, and Max reclined in his leaning on the wall. A smile crept up his lips as the two bespectacled high schoolers fell exactly into place, Nino quickly regaining his balance as he caught Alya in his arms.

The song started off with a soothing violin solo, followed by a teasing ascension of piano chords; only to descend back down and back up again. Alya had her hands on Nino’s chest, while Nino had his arms wrapped around her relatively small frame.

Looking upward, golden orbs fell upon light-brown ones and nothing but the song could be heard by the two. The beating of their hearts seemed to sync and their breathing slowly merged into unison.

Max crossed his arms and smiled, already starting on their calculations as they slowly understood what exactly was happening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry about the really late update!  
> I kind of lost my muse while writing; and I'm just glad I had managed to still make this one before it _really_ got late.  
>  I hope you guys enjoyed!  
> Plus Happy Chinese New Year to y'all!


	14. Baby's-breath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “But the Gypsophila-“ Rose quickly pursed her lips when she muttered out the first part of the flower’s scientific name, feeling blood rush to her face. Max raised an eyebrow curiously and bent down, taking the flower into his hand without plucking it.  
> “Gypsophila cerastioides,” he muttered out “Also known as ‘Baby’s-breath’,” stating a-matter-of-factly, Max smiled proudly, earning him a giggle from the blonde female.

_One_.

Slowly raising an eyebrow curiously as the calculations in his mind stopped, Max pushed himself off of the wall and let his arms fall to his side.

_Two_.

Alya and Nino stood frozen in the middle of the room, soothing music completely engulfing all of their senses.

_Three_.

Mouth falling slightly agape, Max frowned “What?” he muttered out as he readjusted his glasses. Their numbers displayed themselves in front of Max’s eyes, and they left him dumbfounded.

The room was silent, and all eyes were glued to the two bespectacled high schoolers in the middle of the room. The anticipation was palpable that it was almost painful; and was thankfully destroyed by the resident DJ.

“So, you falling for me or something?” he asked cheekily, making Alya snap out of her staring trance “Ugh,” she smiled playfully, pushing Nino away while she swatted at his chest.

“Oh come on,” extending a hand for her to take, Nino gestured with his head “It would be a waste to not dance to this song now that we’re in the dance floor,”

Rolling her eyes and reluctantly attaching herself to Nino, Alya shook her head “You owe me cookies,”

“Chocolate chip?”

“ _Dupain-Cheng_ chocolate chip cookies,” Alya emphasized her point as she playfully flicked at Nino’s nose, eliciting an agreeing chuckle from the male.

“They’re still the same,” Max was distraught by the fact that their numbers stayed _exactly_ the same. The two slow waltzed around the middle of the room, earning them “Aww’s” and “That’s cute’s” from their classmates.

Remembering that they weren’t alone, Alya instinctively nudged away, but Nino kept his grip tight; much to Alya’s chagrin. Soon after, other pairs of their classmates decided to join in on the dance floor, accompanying the two bespectacled high schoolers as they danced to the slow rhythm.

“Why?” Max slouched down and steadied himself by gripping on the nearest chair. The numbers flashed through his mind and on his glasses, and he shook his head. Taking a seat and blinking a few times, he ran a hand through his hair.

“It doesn’t make any sense!” he spoke in almost a scream, but not loud enough to garner the attention of his classmates. A hand placed itself on his shoulder and Max shuddered in surprise at the sudden contact.

“I take it that was a success?” looking upward and blinking a few times in confusion as Max’s eyes fell upon emerald ones, the bespectacled high schooler nodded slowly out of reflex.

Taking a seat beside Max, Adrien let his eyes wander around the room, staring intently at his dancing classmates and how they all looked so happy in each other’s arms “I love what you’ve done for all of them,” the blond spluttered out, making Max look curiously at him.

“For us,” Adrien lowered his head slightly, assuming Max had no one paired up with him “I’m going to go out for a while,” standing up quickly and rushing out of the greenhouse, Adrien’s figure disappeared as he turned the corner.

Max furrowed his brows and readjusted his glasses, shaking his head slightly as he regained his composure. Looking at his classmates slow dancing around with their partners made him feel all warm inside; the sight of Alya and Nino pushing themselves around cheekily, and even how Alix and Kim struggled to dance because they kept on stepping on each other.

A very stern looking Sabrina instructed the two of them and after a few trials they managed go and do one routine without stepping on each other’s feet; but Alix managed to step on Nathanael’s foot, which made the redheaded artist yelp out in surprise.

Ivan and Mylene held and revelled in the presence of the other, even after the music had slowly transitioned back to its energetic nature “Hey,” a familiar voice snapped Max out of his musings and he quickly turned his head to the source of it.

Marinette sat herself shyly beside Max “Hey,” the bespectacled high schooler responded, scrutinizing her face in hopes of understanding why she suddenly placed herself beside him.

“Did you… um-“ she murmured, pursing her lips and lowering her face in shame. Furrowing his brows slightly in confusion, Max cleared his throat “Did I what?” he reiterated for her, making her squeak in surprise “Um…”

“Do that?” she gestured towards the middle of the room, where all their classmates were dancing around excitedly. Except for Nathanael, who was being lifted into the air by Kim, much to the dismay and irritation of Sabrina and Alix respectively.

Shaking his head, Max was confused by her question “I don’t think so,” he started, completely regaining all of his composure now “This party _is_ thrown by Alix-“

“No, I mean about Alya and Nino,” Marinette cut him off, looking at him with a strange confidence and seriousness; which sent an unpleasant shiver down Max’s spine “Wh-what?” he muttered out, slightly taken aback by her sudden question.

“How they managed to get paired up in the middle of the room as _soon_ as a conveniently placed slow song starts,” she completed her statement, which made Max gulp audibly “I-I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he clenched his teeth, calculating Marinette’s numbers out of reflex.

“I just find it awfully strange that you boys suddenly started hanging out together,” she raised an eyebrow challengingly, making Max more and more uncomfortable; he knew she could sass Chloe back, but he wasn’t prepared to face a serious Marinette; like, ever.

“Plus the whole Kim and Alix incident-“ narrowing her eyes slightly and doing a bit of her own scrutinizing, Max fiddled with his fingers as he felt a cold sweat run down his cheek “Um-“

“Would you guys mind if I took a seat here?” Adrien seemingly appeared out of nowhere, dragging a chair behind him and positioning it near the table “No, we don’t!” Max pursed his lips when his words came out as a mild shout.

Quickly standing up from his seat and gesturing towards it, Max smiled nervously “You can sit here, Adrien,” frantically readjusting his glasses “If you’ll excuse me,” Max smiled widely, turning tail and rushing further into the greenhouse.

“What’s gotten him all flustered?” Adrien asked no one in particular, smiling at Marinette when his gaze could no longer follow Max. The raven haired girl shook her head “I have no idea, maybe he was just stunned at how handsome you are-“

“I MEAN-“ Adrien’s ears perked up and he blinked a few times “What was that?” smiling innocently, the blond heard Marinette say something about Max being stunned about something “Dude!” Nino called out, waving at Adrien and Marinette.

Rushing over to their table, Nino took an arm from each of them and dragged them onto the dance floor “Come on, you two!” Alya stifled a giggle, nudging Marinette suggestively “You should dance like everybody else!”

Adrien smiled at Marinette and offered out a hand for her to take “Will you do me the honors, my lady?” his mock curtsy and tone of voice made Marinette flinch in surprise; everything about Adrien’s posture seemed so _familiar_ to her.

“Dude, this isn’t one of your boring old galas,” Nino elbowed Adrien, to which the blond replied with a playful laugh “I know, I know, sheesh!” Adrien smiled again and looked at Marinette, who was animatedly talking with Alya.

The raven haired girl’s features morphed into that of sheer horror when Alya had smirked, whispering something into her ear “I was just joking, girl!” the bespectacled female laughed, earning her a nervous laugh from Marinette.

“ _Adorable_ ,” Adrien thought to himself, furrowing his brows and hissing in irritation as he averted his gaze from the raven-haired female. He internally scolded himself for thinking about how pretty Marinette was; a flash of Ladybug went through his mind and he felt his stomach turn.

“Dude, you okay?” Nino’s playful smile disappeared and there was nothing but concern written on his bespectacled face. Adrien shook his head and smiled, raising two thumbs up to his friend.

“Never better,”

 ---

Surreal.

That was the best term to describe the events that had just happened literally a few minutes ago.

First Nino and Alya were _seemingly_ unaffected by his Operation; perhaps because he hadn’t informed Nino? Was that variable such a drastic game changer?

And second was how Marinette almost caught wind of their little shenanigans. Max gave her credit for that, though; but he was still spooked at how dead-serious the raven-haired female seemed.

The music began to become muffled as he walked further and further into the green path. There was nothing but darkness outside at this time, and the only source of light was the large and glaring spotlights from above; which served as artificial suns at this time of night for the flora.

Walking further and further away from the party, Max was surprised at how long the greenhouse actually was. The music would quiet down a bit for every four steps that he took “Curious,” he muttered out, pushing away thoughts of his failed Operation and Marinette by calculating the distance he would need to go so as to fully mute out the music.

Seeing the back door to the greenhouse made Max’s eyes light up and he stopped in his tracks “So it does have an end,” he mused as his ears perked up, hearing a strangely alluring humming sound.

Weaving through the shrubbery with caution, Max gulped audibly when he could clearly hear the humming from the other side, taking one step and reluctantly turning the corner.

“Rose?” he managed to mutter out, light brown eyes fell upon blue ones “Oh, Max!” she smiled, standing up from the ground and dusting her dress “Has the party started?” she wiped at her cheek, getting dirt on it.

Taking a quick look at her then to where she was sitting on, Max had surmised that she was _gardening_ “It has, actually,” he said without looking at her “For a good ten minutes or so,” a panicked look washed over her face and she quickly placed the small shovel that she was holding into her dress pocket.

“But the Gypsophila-“ Rose quickly pursed her lips when she muttered out the first part of the flower’s scientific name, feeling blood rush to her face. Max raised an eyebrow curiously and bent down, taking the flower into his hand without plucking it.

“Gypsophila cerastioides,” he muttered out “Also known as ‘Baby’s-breath’,” stating a-matter-of-factly, Max smiled proudly, earning him a giggle from the blonde female.

“Chickweed baby’s-breath, actually,” she interjected shyly, making Max readjust his glasses and shrugging “Ah, I didn’t know that,” text flashed on his glasses and he nodded “Noted,”

Rose smiled, and Max squinted his eyes a bit out of reflex; did she always smile so brightly?

Placing both of her hands behind her, she swayed her hips a bit to the rhythm of the music “Perhaps we should go?” she asked curiously, gesturing with her head.

Readjusting his glasses and shaking his head, Max squatted in his place and moved towards the flowers that Rose was tending to earlier “We should finish up here first,”

Squatting beside him and fishing for her small shovel, she smiled “Ah, yes. Of course!”

Max watched her lithe fingers work on the flowers intently, as she tended to them with relative ease, his eyes trailed up towards her arms, then to her shoulder, then to her face.

Blinking a few times, Max started his calculations and squinted his eyes; letting out a groan as the large zero flashed before his face.

“Is something the matter?” she asked curiously, turning to look at him and tilting her head to the side slightly. Max shook his head and smiled nervously “I, uh-”

“Don’t know how to garden,”

Rose blinked a few times and she beamed, making Max flinch again “I can teach you!” she crooned, making Max smile.

“I would appreciate that,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Extra early update for y'all, because I love you guys.  
> Like, _seriously_.  
>  Plus your comments really get me going.  
> Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed!


	15. Confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the song began to sound muffled to his ears, Max’s mind was filled with pictures of the blonde girl “Why?” he muttered, quickening his pace as he tried to push all thoughts of Rose away from his mind by doing numerous calculations at once.  
> He hissed in irritation when arithmetics had proven futile to thwart any and all thoughts of the blonde female from his mind.

“So you’re not _supposed_ to trim the stems?” Rose looked at him incredulously and she smiled “No, silly!” Max blinked a few times and nodded in agreement “No wonder it died,” he tapped at his chin curiously “But I read something on the internet saying that it would further preserve the plant’s life,”

Blinking a few times, Rose laughed “That’s only applicable for Bonsai,” blinking his eyes a few times, Max’s mouth formed a small ‘o’.

“That makes much more sense,”

“Silly,” she said again, as a comfortable silence fell between the two. It took them exactly eight minutes and forty-one seconds to finish working on the baby’s-breath, according to Max; and the two of them were on their way back to the party.

Max seemed preoccupied with the shrubs by his immediate area, and seemed to mutter something to himself every now and then. Rose eyed him curiously as he did so, and she felt her blood rush to her face.

She blinked a few times in surprise when the booming music cut her off from her staring, and the two of them were just a few steps away from the clearing where the party was being held “Come, let’s go,” Max readjusted his glasses and stole a glance at the blonde.

“Are you okay?” he asked curiously, his keen eyes catching a glimpse of the tint of red on her cheeks “Hmm?” she tilted her head to the side slightly “What do you mean?” Max scrutinized her face and no words exited his lips; brown eyes fell upon the smudge of dirt by her cheek.

“Here,” he reached out to her face, and was surprised that she didn’t jerk her head back when his hand had made contact with her cheek. Sticking his tongue out slightly as he brushed it away using his thumb, Max smiled slightly when her face looked clean as a whistle.

“You had dirt on your cheek,” he muttered out, not for one second breaking eye contact with her face; her bright yellow hair, her puffy pink cheeks, her pink lips that glistened because of the lighting of the room-

Brown eyes fell upon dark blue ones, and Max felt time slow down to a halt as he stared into her very soul. The music was muffled and he could hear his heart beat like a war drum from inside of him. Unconsciously he started to lean in, absolutely mesmerized and drawn by everything that adorned her face.

He drew closer and closer to her until he could feel her breath tickle his nose. His heart beat grew louder and louder each passing second, and he instinctively closed his eyes as he felt his lips twitch.

“There you are!” Max shuddered and felt electricity course through his veins as someone forcefully slapped him on the shoulder “We’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Kim smiled, raising an eyebrow curiously when Max seemed to be catching his breath.

“You okay, man?” the tall high schooler asked out of concern, tilting his head slightly so as to look at his bespectacled friend “I-I’m good,” Max spluttered out, clutching at his chest. Taking a glance at Rose, who was just as surprised as he was, the bespectacled high schooler hissed in irritation.

“I need some air,” he blurted out, shrugging Kim’s hand away as he stomped away and quickly exited the small greenhouse,” Kim furrowed his brows and turned his attention to his other classmate, Rose.

“What’s wrong with him?” he asked curiously, making the blonde girl blink a few times in surprise “Huh?” she blurted out, earning her an exasperated groan from Kim, who rubbed at his temples.

“Unbelievable,”

 ---

As the song began to sound muffled to his ears, Max’s mind was filled with pictures of the blonde girl “Why?” he muttered, quickening his pace as he tried to push all thoughts of Rose away from his mind by doing numerous calculations at once.

He hissed in irritation when arithmetics had proven futile to thwart his thoughts of Rose “May I help you?” a familiar voice snapped him out of his trance, and Max looked up to make eye contact with the butler from earlier.

“Ah, yes,” Max cleared his throat, shaking his head when more pictures of Rose engulfed his mind’s eye “I would like to step out for a moment,” the bespectacled high schooler confessed, earning him a raised eyebrow from the elderly butler.

“To get some air,” Francoeur scrutinized Max’s face for a few seconds before opening the large double doors behind him “As you wish,” he gestured to the outside, prompting Max to do as he pleases.

“Thank you,” he smiled a bit weakly, relishing the feeling of the cold night air harshly lashing on his face. The temporary stinging helped in clearing his mind, and he slowly descended the stone steps while his eyes were closed.

Sitting on the last step and sighing in disbelief, he placed his arms on the step above and reclined slightly “What was _that_ ,” he thought aloud, vivid images of Rose’s face flashed through his mind as he remembered exactly what was going to happen.

Max felt blood rush to his face and he suddenly panicked “I was about to lean in and kiss her,” the words left a sour taste in his mouth, and the bespectacled high schooler felt more blood rush to his face “And she didn’t seem like she _minded_ ,”

“At least, I think she didn’t,” frowning slightly, Max quickly returned to the event in his mind “She didn’t seem like she was pulling away,” groaning and burying his face in his hands, Max shook his head “Her eyes drew me in and I couldn’t get out,”

Gritting his teeth, Max sighed exasperatedly “But why?” he asked again, making numerous calculations in his mind, and shaking his head or hissing in irritation whenever his hypotheses would fail. Why would he suddenly want to feel her lips against his? Why would he suddenly want to proclaim his newfound feelings for her?

But most importantly, why didn’t she pull back? A million thoughts raced through Max’s mind as he calculated the probabilities of each and every one of them. Some were farfetched; some were fantastical, while others were completely ridiculous.

Weaving through those thoughts, a single one shone in the middle. His eyes widened in disbelief and he bit at his lower lip.

Perhaps she liked him?

Shaking his head, he quickly discarded the thought to the side along with the other ones he aptly labelled as “Ridiculous”. As the thoughts continued to race through his mind, Max furrowed his brows slightly.

He had done calculations on his friends and classmates. He had done calculations on Chat Noir. He had done calculations on his instructors. He had even done calculations on his parents. But one thing he has never done was do calculations on himself.

The thought ate him from the inside out and he started tapping his right foot. What was the reason Rose possessed a glaring zero over her head? Was it because she was aromantic? Was it because she was taken? Or was it because she was meant for _him_?

The last thought clung to his mind as he felt himself groan “Ridiculous,” he spluttered out, his ears slightly perking up when he had heard the large doors of Kubdel manor creak open. Light steps entered his ears and Max looked forward, undaunted on who the new arrival could be.

A large figure sat itself beside him, and Max heard an exasperated sigh. Turning to look at his new companion, Max saw Kim leaning on the steps behind him, much like his posture from earlier.

The tall high schooler looked above to the stars and had an unreadable expression on his face. Another sigh escaped Kim’s lips and he spoke up without so much as turning to look at his friend “You alright?” was all Kim could construct, which brought a smile up to Max’s face.

“Yeah,” he replied, half-truth, half-lie “Are you sure?” Kim turned to look at his bespectacled friend now, trying his best to scrutinize his facial expression “No,” Max said after a minute of contemplation “I’m confused,” he confessed, earning him a concerned look from his friend.

Max stood up and looked at Kim, brown eyes fell upon black and the tall high schooler pleaded at Max to tell him without so much as a word. The bespectacled high schooler smiled and shook his head. For Kim to understand everything, he needed to explain, well, _everything_.

Turning towards the steps and walking towards the doors, Max sighed “This isn’t the place or the time to be worrying about me,” he started, knocking on the door and turning around to look at a dumbfounded Kim who sat idly at the end of the steps.

Kim blinked a few times curiously, shaking his head when Francoeur opened the door for Max. Furrowing his brows and feeling slightly irritated, the tall high schooler was confused as to what’s keeping Max from telling him.

Max gestured towards him and smiled “Come on, we still have a party to attend to,”

 ---

This was not right.

Max ate by his lonesome, snacking on a modest plate not even half-filled with finger foods. Kim was in the company of Alix, Nathanael, Sabrina, Ivan and Mylene; who were joyfully talking about some of their more ridiculous instructors.

Their conversation quickly transitioned to that of jokes and bad puns, and a game of who had the worst joke came up “I’ll go first,” Alix sneered as she tapped at her chin “Aha!” she smiled widely, looking at everyone by the table mischievously.

“What happens when you witness a ship wreck?” she started, looking at everyone and smiling even wider when no one seemed to have any idea for an answer “ _You let it sink in!_ ” she exclaimed, laughing to herself as realization struck everyone; their faces morphing into nervous smiles.

“I thought this was a contest for bad jokes,” Nathanael grimaced a bit “That was pretty dark, Alix,” snorting, the pinkette reclined in her chair “Yeah, can _you_ do any better?” the redheaded artist lowered his face and looked to be in thought, smiling slightly when a thought had struck him.

“How many tickles does it take to make an octopus laugh?” everyone shrugged, save for Alix who was looking at Nathanael challengingly and Kim who’s been out of their little group conversation ever since he came back with Max.

“ _Ten tickles_ ,” he smiled, earning him a snort from Sabrina and Mylene “Well, I suppose I _can_ do better,” a tint of mischief was apparent in the redheaded artist’s voice, and he half-smiled towards Alix; who replied with a roll of her eyes.

 ---

On a separate table, Adrien cringed and shivered uncomfortably “You okay, dude?” Nino asked with concern, stopping his eating and looking at his blond friend “Y-yeah, I’m cool,” he smiled weakly, quickly looking away and frowning at the ground.

Adrien felt a disturbance in the bad pun universe.

The blond felt like he had just been beat.

 ---

“What do you call chips that aren’t yours?” Sabrina asked carefully, thinking about the answer over and over again in her mind. When everyone either shrugged or shook their head, the redheaded female smiled “ _Nacho chips!_ ” she beamed, earning her a smile from Nathanael; and a full blown guffaw from Alix.

Everyone looked at her incredulously and she seemed to be wiping soda off of her face “That caught me off guard,” she confessed, standing up and rushing out of the small greenhouse. As laughter passed around the group of friends, Kim continued to stare at his friend; trying his best to understand what was going through his mind with all the information that he had just received.

Blinking a few times in surprise when Rose had suddenly taken a seat beside Max, Kim watched their exchange curiously. Max seemed reluctant at first, but his shoulders seemed to sag and his whole posture began to relax.

The blonde girl was the one doing most of the talking, with Max nodding from time to time or offering her an hors d’oeuvre to which she’d either graciously accept or politely decline. Their conversation quickly eased in, and after a while the two of them were talking rather animatedly, with Max seemingly speaking up from time to time.

Suddenly, they stopped, for what felt like a minute or so. Max shook his head violently and lowered his face, quickly standing up and rushing out of the greenhouse. Rose quickly stood up as well, reaching out to her bespectacled classmate but not being able to grab onto him.

The blonde watched Max go without so much as a squeak, and Kim frowned so hard that he felt his eyebrows ache.

“ _What the hell is going on?_ ” he screamed internally, quickly rising from his seat and startling all his companions by the table. Ivan and Nathanael voiced their concerns at the same time, but the only thing that managed to get through Kim’s ears was the electronic music that was playing in the background.

Rushing out of the room and after Max, Kim bumped into Alix “Hey!” the pinkette shouted, pulling down on her shirt as she shook her head “Where’re you going in such a hurry, meathead?” Kim noticed that she had a change of clothes, or more specifically, how small her shirt was. That would probably only fit one of his arms.

“I’m sorry, Max and I are leaving,” he peered over to the door, seeing Max conversing with the elderly butler “It’s been a fun night, babe, but we really have to go,” he quickly kissed her on the forehead and rushed off, leaving a confused Alix behind.

Alix blinked a few times in confusion and felt blood rush to her face, turning around to catch a glimpse of Kim rushing outside of the door of their house. The pinkette watched Franceour close the doors and felt herself furrowing her brows “Babe?” she felt a smile tug at the corner of her lips as she made her way back to the party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the update, folks!  
> I'm feeling rather write-y this weekend, so I'm hopeful that I'd get another one out before this reprieve ends.  
> I hope you all enjoyed!


	16. Coming Clean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And now he was rushing home, conflicted and defeated in both aspects of his intellect in respect to his planning and calculations and of his very manhood. The opportunity presented itself, he could have shared what would have been his first kiss with a girl he didn’t necessarily dislike.  
> But then, a heavy question set itself upon his mind-  
> Did _he_ like Rose?

“Max, wait!” Kim sprinted onward, his head racing with thoughts as to _why_ his bespectacled friend would suddenly just up and leave after exchanging a few words with their class’ resident sunshine-and-funtimes-spreader.

Max took a sharp turn as the gates of Kubdel manor slowly and painfully swung open. He felt his ears twitch when it had registered Kim’s voice, but he decided to pay no mind to his friend. Kim continued to call out to him, seemingly getting stuck by the gates judging from his sudden aggravated tone of voice.

He needed air. Or sleep. Whichever he really needed, Max had no definite clue. Fuming and grumbling, the bespectacled high schooler thought about the events of the last hour or so. Nino and Alya’s plan failed, he gardened with Rose, he almost _kissed_ Rose, he rushed out of the party where Kim had to technically drag him back, and he _almost_ kissed Rose.

And now he was rushing home, conflicted and defeated in both aspects of his intellect in respect to his planning and calculations and of his very manhood. The opportunity presented itself, he could have shared what would have been his first kiss with a girl he didn’t necessarily dislike.

But then, a heavy question set itself upon his mind-

Did _he_ like Rose?

“You’ve gotten _fast_ ,” Kim panted, firmly gripping on Max’s shoulder, which made the bespectacled high schooler yelp in surprise “I didn’t think you could outrun me that long,” Max turned around and sighed in defeat as he readjusted his glasses “Thirty-six point four seconds,” he interjected, laughing at himself internally at how he unconsciously and impeccably counted the time Kim was pursuing him.

Kim took one last deep breath and smiled, thinking that Max was feeling a bit better if he was speaking in numbers again. Letting go of his shoulder, Kim’s smile grew a bit when Max had made no attempt to run away.

“What’s the matter, man?” jumping up and down for a few seconds, Kim started stretching; a look of pure concern etched onto his face. Max averted his gaze and looked to be in thought, only to speak up around half a minute later “I would like to… confess something,”

Kim raised an eyebrow curiously as he stretched his arm one last time “But I would rather to tell you at home,” Max turned around and left, leaving a slightly flabbergasted Kim; because he really _wasn’t_ expecting Max to spill the beans that easily.

 ---

Opening the door to his house slowly, Max raised an eyebrow curiously when all the lights were completely turned off “I’m home!” he exclaimed, waiting a few seconds for a response; his shoulders slumping when no familiar voice had greeted him back.

Reaching for the light switch by the door, Max slightly squinted his eyes as light flooded the previously dark room. Going inside and switching on the lights by the kitchen, Max saw a note by the table.

“ _Dear Max,_

_We’re so sorry we had to leave again, the conference for the International Technological Summit in Dublin had been seemingly moved this coming Friday._

_Your mother and I had left money in your room for you to spend on anything curricular, extracurricular or personal._

_We apologize for leaving in such short notice after we just came back._

_Love you and be safe,_

_Dad and Mom_ ”

Max slowly took in the words and crumpled the note in his hand, pocketing it and letting a sigh of frustration leave his lips. Taking a mug by the dish drainer, he filled it up with water and went to his living room, where a rather nervous looking Kim sat by his lonesome on their couch.

Taking a seat by one of the small chairs beside the coffee table in front of the couch, Max crossed his legs “Where do I start?” he sipped from his mug, earning him a shake of the head from Kim “I dunno, man. You tell me,”

Drumming his fingertips along the cool exterior of the mug, Max sighed “You know how I always speak in numbers?”

 ---

“Well, her numbers are always in constant flux and are rather _chaotic_ ,” Max said finally, taking in a deep breath as he did so “Which is really strange judging from the fact that she’s the only one I’ve seen with numbers acting in that behavior,”

Kim leaned on the couch, his face full of shock, wonder and confusion. But mostly shock “That’s heavy, dude,” the tall high schooler shook his head and furrowed his brows a bit “So this is how you decide on the Operations? On whoever has the closest numbers?”

Max nodded, taking a sip from his mug “Correct. But Juleka isn’t the only… _anomaly_ in our class,” Kim perked up and sat straight, eager to hear more about this so-called ‘anomaly’ “Yeah? Who else?” the bespectacled high schooler put his mug down by the coffee table and took a pause.

Clearing his throat, Max furrowed his brows slightly “Marinette and Adrien,” he started, making Kim slightly slouch in his seat “They both have the _exact same_ number,” Max continued, emphasizing on his point “Regardless of whatever happens,”

“What do you mean?” Kim shot up once more, getting more and more curious as their discussion continued “I saw it firsthand,” readjusting his glasses, Max took the mug from the table “Marinette’s numbers slightly increased; and a split second later, Adrien’s did as well,” frowning at the explanation, the tall high schooler shook his head “So what do you think that means?”

Shrugging, Max took a sip from his mug “No idea,” Kim looked at him dejectedly and snorted “If mine and Alix’s numbers are real close that means we’re compatible to be in a relationship, right?”

“Correct,” Max nodded “And Ivan and Mylene’s numbers are pretty close too?” pausing for a brief moment and reimagining their numbers, Max nodded once more “Yes,”

“So that means Adrien and Marinette are practically _made for each other_ ,” Kim raised an eyebrow as he arrived to that conclusion, which made Max ponder about it “Perhaps,” he muttered out a few seconds later; seeing as how that wasn’t too farfetched of a hypothesis.

“But you told me Alya and Nino’s Operation didn’t really work out earlier-“ the tall high schooler frowned “Why’s that? They seemed pretty “into the moment” at that one point,” Max nodded agreeingly, and felt irritation course through his veins “Their numbers didn’t budge,” he deadpanned, which made him feel better letting that information out of his system.

“What?” Kim’s mouth fell open “Why’d that happen?” Max took a sip from his mug and discarded it to the table one last time as he emptied its contents “Again, I have no idea,” he shrugged, crossing his arms as he reclined slightly into the chair that he was sitting on.

Kim pouted and seemed to be in thought; Max appreciated that Kim was wracking his thoughts for any and all possible reasons for his recent blunders, but he was afraid the tall high schooler would short circuit his brain or something. He _was_ called Meathead for a reason.

“What if-” realization dawned on Kim’s face and Max inched closer towards the coffee table; curious as to what his friend had just thought of “What if they’re already a thing?” the bespectacled high schooler let his arms fall to his side as the same awestruck look of realization appeared on his face.

Max opened his mouth to rebut but no words came out of it; his mouth fell agape and he suddenly grit his teeth “You’re right,” he muttered, earning him a confused expression from Kim “I am?” the tall high schooler asked incredulously, but Max just ignored him. Standing up abruptly and frowning ‘til his forehead ached, Max shook his head.

Turning to look at Kim, the bespectacled high schooler was impressed at his friend’s rather astute hypotheses; and felt irritated at himself for overthinking about the Operations too much. One nagging question continued to stir his mind into chaos, and Max gulped audibly as he braced himself.

Opening his mouth to speak, Max found his throat dry up suddenly “Another thing,” his voice strained, and all of Kim’s focus had suddenly turned to him “There’s one last anomaly in the class,” raising an eyebrow curiously, Kim slightly reclined in his seat, seemingly getting the flow of their conversation and easing up; as if anything else could be shocking to him after all that he and Max had talked about.

“Rose,” he started, feeling himself get more and more nervous at every second that ticked by “She, uhh, doesn’t have a number,” sitting back down and slumping in his chair, Max felt relief wash over him as he finally voice it out; no matter how vague his statement might have been. Kim looked to have been taking the information in, and Max edged on his seat; eager to hear what his friend had to say.

“What,” was all the tall high schooler could mutter, which earned him a carefree laugh from Max. Slouching in his chair and wiping away a tear of mirth, Max shook his head “It’s not that she doesn’t _have_ a number, per se,” he smiled, straightening his sitting position.

Kim felt a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth at how giddy Max seemed. Perhaps Rose’s enthusiasm was rubbing off on his friend? That certainly would make his company even more enjoyable “She has a zero for her number,” Max finally said, leaning into his chair once more as he felt more relief wash over him.

Kim’s smile did not let up for a second, and his mind quickly hotwired itself when Max stated Rose possessed a zero. Why exactly would her number be zero? Because she was inadequate as a person? Certainly not, Kim thought as he shook his head to himself. Because she and Max weren’t compatible _at all_?

The thought made him cringe a bit, because he thought the two of them looked rather adorable interacting earlier. Though what brought him here in this very position lying on the couch with one of his feet raised and propped up on Max’s coffee table was the same thing that left him confused; why _did_ Max leave the party. And his friend did that _twice_ in the span of an hour or so.

A thousand thoughts and possibilities raced through his mind, and Kim shook his head as he felt his temples throb “Ugh,” he muttered out; this analyzation and conclusion thing was Max’s forte, and he trusted in his friend to get to the conclusion on his own. But Kim’s mind relented and his thoughts clicked into place.

“Maybe you and Rose have the same case as Marinette and Adrien?” Kim finally spoke up, feeling his mind soothe a bit as he finally stopped thinking so hard. Max looked at him incredulously and shook his head “Impossible,” the bespectacled high schooler smirked “For what logical reason would that even be true-“

A ringing and vibrating noise emanated through the relatively empty room and Kim quickly stood up, fishing for his phone form within his pant pocket. Pressing it open and pursing his lips at the sight, Kim quickly pushed the phone by his ear “Uh, hello?” he smiled nervously and flinched in pain slightly.

“N-no, I’m at a friend’s house,” Kim paced around and shook his head “Y-yeah, we left the party early,” blinking a few times and nodding in agreement, the tall high schooler lowered his face in defeat “Okay, okay, I’ll be home in a few,”

Looking at the display of his phone and sighing in defeat, Kim smiled nervously as he gestured towards the door “I gotta go, man,” he smiled apologetically this time, rushing towards the front door of Max’s house “No, it's alright. Thanks for keeping me company,” Max smiled back.

“Maybe you should try calculating your own numbers, dude,” Kim suggested before he disappeared from sight. Max smiled incredulously in his seat, shaking his head as he found the very notion of being in the same shoes as Marinette and Adrien.

It was preposterous, to say the least. Him of all people was supposed to be the one enjoying a life of solitude; for he had already calculated his chances of finding a relationship-

And his chances were pretty low.

Kim’s suggestion stuck to his ears and the smile slowly faded from his face. Max crossed his arms and furrowed his brows, hissing in irritation as he quickly stood up and took the mug from the coffee table. He was just tired, Max surmised; plus he had school tomorrow.

Discarding the mug by the sink, Max closed all the lights in the kitchen and left the light by the living room open. Going towards the stairs, Max clutched onto the wood of the railing and ascended the wooden steps; each time the soles of his shoes made contact with wood, the stronger the nagging in his mind became.

Shaking his head and pushing his door open with unnecessary force, Max flicked on the lights to his room and sighed in disbelief, throwing himself onto his bed. Looking up to glance at his computer, Max frowned when he had seen nothing but black on the screen. Of course that would be the case, it was turned off; he internally reprimanded himself.

His eyes wandered around his room, falling upon his bookshelf filled to the brim with books, then to his nightstand with a small lamp with euros tucked underneath it. Max’s gaze fell upon the small mirror near his work desk, and the bespectacled high schooler couldn’t help but be drawn to it.

Standing up and dragging a chair behind him, Max placed himself in front of the mirror, scrutinizing his features before a smile graced his lips. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Max opened them slowly and pursed his lips as he started calculating his own numbers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next update everyone!  
> Hope you guys enjoyed!


	17. Analyzation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The numbers made sense now that Max understood the underlying concept behind them. Three factors governed the numbers; which were the personality, traits and abilities of the person being examined.  
> The personality of a certain person always gave a flat value of four hundred; regardless if they were an introvert or an extrovert, with Max being the former and Nino being the latter.

_Ding!_

Furrowing his brows as the piercingly irritating noise cut through the silence of his room, Max tossed and turned in his sheets.

_Ding!_

His brows turned to a full scowl as the ringing resounded once more.

_Din-_

Pressing a button to turn off his alarm clock through muscle memory alone, Max sat up on his bed; his eyes still closed and his hair tousled and dishevelled from his night’s rest.

A yawn escaped Max’s lips and he stretched both of his arms upward, systematically going to the edge of his bed and slightly jumping off in one swift motion.

Scratching at his head and going to his workplace, Max took his cellphone and prompted it to life, squinting his eyes a bit when he had seen that he had two text notifications.

Discarding the phone on the desk and turning to his lavatory, Max washed his face and brushed his teeth; all the while having half-lidded eyes.

Going back to his room and taking his phone by his work desk, Max turned to his closet and readied a change of clothes; neatly discarding them on his slightly crumpled bed.

Taking his glasses by the nightstand that stood beside his bed, Max affixed them on his face. His vision grew clearer and the bespectacled high schooler readjusted his glasses as he exited his room and descended the stairs, making his way to the kitchen.

 ---

Max drummed his fingers on the hard wood of his desk; while his other hand had cupped one side of his face, as his elbow rested on his table; supporting the weight of his head as a thousand thoughts raced through his mind.

He arrived exponentially earlier than usual at Collège, with mister Haprèle being there to greet him; much to the surprise of the assistant educator.

The bespectacled high schooler groaned at how silent it was; which was very unbecoming of him since he always liked it when things were more quiet and peaceful.

Max was baffled at how many things happened in the span of one day. He closed his eyes and recalled.

Yesterday, he had managed to facilitate _two_ Operations; with the first one leading to a party at Alix’s house and the second one leading to a failure. Marinette _almost_ managed to find out what was happening and he _almost_ kissed Rose.

The final thought sent blood rushing to Max’s face; even up ‘til now, he still couldn’t believe that he had almost locked lips with the shy blonde.

But what took the cake was the fact that he told Kim _everything_. His ability to calculate and see numbers on almost any organic being, the fact that these numbers can correlate to many aspects of a person’s relationship with another person, about the anomalies in class and even about Rose’s zero.

Kim seemed to give plausible hypotheses and his suggestions were almost always on track; especially that one last suggestion before he left Max by his lonesome.

Gulping audibly, the bespectacled high schooler reached for his bag but reluctance overtook him and he had to wait a few seconds before he grabbed it. Unzipping it open and fishing for something inside, Max felt his heart pound as his fingertips brushed against cold metal.

Taking the object into his palm and slowly taking it out of the his bag, Max steeled himself as his eyes fell upon a bright surface that reflected his very image-

A mirror.

Scrutinizing his features and feeling a cold sweat run down the side of his face, Max looked intently at himself; committing to memory each and every crease or indentation that was present on his dark complexion.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Max slowly opened his eyes and stared at himself once more, his mind doing quick calculations on his very own number.

As the numbers flashed through his mind’s eye, Max stare intently at the crown of his head as numbers seemingly formed above it. Four zeroes appeared and started spinning like a roulette, and the bespectacled high schooler gulped audibly once more.

The first zero did not move at all, but the second, third and fourth were spinning uncontrollably. The second zero started slowing down until it reached a six; while the third one grinded to a halt towards a two. The last zero stopped towards a five but quickly turned into a six as his numbers finally calmed down.

“Six hundred twenty six,” Max muttered, and pursed at his lips “It was just six hundred two last night,” furrowing his brows at the drastic change of his own number, the bespectacled high schooler yelped in surprise when the door to their room suddenly swung open.

Quickly putting the mirror back into his bag, the bespectacled high schooler looked nervously at the new arrival “Oh, mornin’ dude!” Nino half-smiled, raising one hand and waving towards Max. Lowering his headphones by his neck, Nino strutted upward the steps and took a seat on Max and Kim’s desk.

“Yo, where’d you go last night?” the DJ’ features morphed a bit to show his concern “You just disappeared all of a sudden,” Nino continued to pry, and Max’s train of thought wasn’t really in a straight line as of the moment “Uhh-“ was all Max could muster and he instinctively started calculating the DJ’s numbers.

As soon as Max did so, the reason for their numbers became clear to him. The same four zeroes appeared above Nino’s head and started spinning, whereas the first zero remained itself.

As the second zero started slowing down to a halt, Max gulped audibly and looked at it intently “Dude?” Nino furrowed his brows and noticed that Max wasn’t really looking at him but _above_ him.

The DJ turned around and looked behind him, and felt more confused when nothing was there, and then proceeded to look upward to the ceiling but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Taking off his cap and scratching at his short black hair, Nino turned back to see if Max was still looking at him weirdly.

The numbers made sense now that Max understood the underlying concept behind them. Three factors governed the numbers; which were the _personality_ , _traits_ and _abilities_ of the person being examined.

The personality of a certain person always gave a flat value of four hundred; regardless if they were an introvert or an extrovert, with Max being the former and Nino being the latter.

Three main traits and abilities were discerned from the person, with Nino’s first trait being that he was _loud_ ; a useful trait for being an extrovert but is not beneficial to everyone. So it only adds a value of fifty; hence Nino’s number has become four hundred fifty.

His second trait was that he was rather _selfish_ , which was a very negative trait and reduced his number by one hundred; thus three hundred fifty. While Nino’s third trait was that he was _friendly,_ this adds another fifty and equalizes his number back to four hundred.

Nino’s three main abilities are his _musicality,_ being a _liar_ and his _persuasiveness_ ; adding values of one hundred, fifty and one hundred respectively. Giving the DJ a grand total of six hundred fifty; but given his rather brash nature, a deduction of discrepancies lowers it to what Max sees right now-

Six hundred thirty nine.

The glaring numbers seemed to shine in Max’s vision and they haunted him with the fact that they didn’t change from last night or last week “Yo, dude?” Nino asked again, his voice filled with urgency “You okay?”

“Huh?” Max asked in a daze, the numbers from above Nino’s head vanishing as he spoke “Dude, you seem out of it,” a face of pure concern was what Max came back to into reality, and he felt his stomach turn slightly at the sight of the somewhat concerned DJ.

“I’m fine,” Max reassured Nino and himself as he readjusted his glasses “I was just tired from yesterday, you know?” he smiled weakly, earning Max a grin from Nino.

“That’s good to hear, bro,” Nino readjusted his cap and his smile did not let up for a single second “But ya still haven’t told me why you bounced so early last night,” Max furrowed his brows a bit and shook his head “Oh, right,”

A flash of Rose’s image passed by Max’s mind’s eye and he held back a hiss of irritation “I wasn’t feeling too well,” he started, earning him a nod from Nino “So I decided to leave and Kim followed afterwards to check up on me,”

Nodding in agreement, Nino seemed to be in thought but then, suddenly, a large smile graced his lips “About the Operation last night-“ the DJ started, his smile growing wider when he had noticed the sudden tensing in Max’s posture.

“It was for me, wasn’t it?” Nino smiled and raised an eyebrow lazily, making Max gulp audibly “Um, about that-“ Nino laughed and shook his head “Dude, I have to admit that you’re a pretty manipulative guy,”

Max pursed his lips and felt his stomach turn “Getting me to put in that slow song when it was meant for me?” the DJ shrugged and patted Max on the shoulder “But the thing you orchestrated to make me and Alya fall into the middle of the room was awesome,”

Frowning slightly, Max was confused at his friend’s words “But that was an unnecessary Operation, in all honesty,” Nino stood up from and shrugged “Alya and I are already a thing, so it’s kind of overkill if ya ask me,”

“Already… a thing?” Max asked unconsciously “Yeah, ever since that day at the zoo with that animal transforming akuma-“ Max furrowed his brows and nodded slowly, feeling a smile creep up his lips. Kim’s hypothesis was right; the reason why Nino and Alya’s numbers didn’t change was because they were _already_ in a relationship.

“Yes, interesting,” Max nodded to himself, feeling relief wash over him “But that leads to only _two_ more Operations,” Nino cut in, effectively making Max look at the DJ with curiosity.

“Well, more like one more,” Nino shrugged, slightly laughing through his teeth “You,” the DJ poked Max on the chest, and his grin did not let up for even a single moment.

“What?” was all that Max could mutter, which effectively garnered him a full blown guffaw from Nino “You’re the only one left without an Operation, dude,” furrowing his brows, Max bit at his lower lip. Was he really the only one left?

His eyes widened in realization and he gave a challenging look at Nino “There’s still Adrien,” he said confidently and his confidence melted when Nino had snorted “Nah, man. He and Mari are like, _secretly_ dating or something-“

“What?” Max muttered once more “Really?” he asked incredulously, earning him a shrug from the DJ “I dunno, not sure. But it sort of feels that way, right?” Nino brought his face closer to Max’s “Tell me I’m not the only one suspicious of those two probably eloping one day,”

Max shifted away a bit and smiled nervously “I wouldn’t go that far-“ but then their exact same numbers flashed through his mind’s eye and Max thought it wasn’t too farfetched for Nino to be right “-but I suppose,”

“Yes!” Nino pumped his fist into the air and did a little shimmy “I knew you’d think so!” smiling widely, the DJ slammed his hands on the table “So, are they the next Operation or something?” Max gulped audibly and was thankful that Nino kind of forgot that they were just talking about his _very own_ Operation just a few seconds ago.

“Yes, I’ll work on it,” readjusting his glasses and regaining his composure and bravado, Max smiled slightly, which made Nino slightly jump in delight “Aww, yeah!” the DJ turned around and gave Max a thumbs up “Adrien’ll never see it coming!”

Max smiled as he watched Nino go to his seat and plug his headphone back to the side of his head; his head bobbing up and down in a strange fervor compared to earlier.

Sighing contentedly and slightly slouching in his seat, Max felt relief wash over his system as most of his questions were answered in such a short amount of time. More people slowly entered their classroom and all Max’s ears could register were muffled chatter and excitable laughter.

Smiling to himself and closing his eyes, Max heard an all too familiar voice and his eyes shot wide open like saucers.

“Good morning,” Rose said in a hushed tone and Max blinked a few times out of confusion “G-good morning,” he finally muttered after a few seconds of staring. Max swore that Rose’s cheeks were rather _pink_ today.

The blonde smiled and made her way to her seat, and Max felt his eyes follow after her “Yo!” Kim slapped Max on the back with unnecessary force, earning him a yelp of pain from his bespectacled friend “Mornin’!” the tall high schooler smiled toothily, to which Max replied with a weak smile “Morning,”

“You feeling better, man?” Kim smiled and Max furrowed his brows a bit. Everything was seemingly falling into place and Rose didn’t seem too awkward around him “Never better,” Max smiled back but winced in pain when Kim had suddenly gave him an earful about how he got scolded by his parents last night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so so sorry for the really late update, guys!  
> Things have gotten kind of hectic and I didn't really manage to fit the writing in that much during the weekend.  
> Anyway, I'm both happy and sad to say that this story is about to reach it's quaint little end.  
> I'd like to thank everyone who's encouraged me and to those who's stayed along for the ride; I really appreciate the feedback I got especially since this was my first work for this fandom.
> 
> As always, I hope you guys enjoyed!


	18. Danger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Max!” the two screamed in unison, with Chat Noir propelling himself forward using the end of his baton. Ladybug readied her yo-yo but stopped when Chat had spoken “Go distract him, my lady!”  
> The raven haired hero reluctantly turned around and swung her yo-yo, easily catching the distracted Owlman in her string. The sound of rubble crashing behind her made Ladybug quickly turn around once more.

“Seventy two??” Kim asked incredulously, his eyes widening in fear.

“Seventy two,” Max deadpanned, readjusting his glasses as he stood up from his seat.

“But-“ Kim’s jaw fell “But!”

“I answered seventy one point ninety four,” Alix interjected, earning her a nod from Max “It’s quite alright,” the bespectacled high schooler excused himself and squeezed in between of Kim and their desk.

“The test didn’t specify on rounding up the answers, so you’re good, Alix,” Max smiled, making the pinkette pump her fist into the air.

“Seventy one point ninety four?!” Kim furrowed his brows “How?”

Alix smirked “You didn’t use the hypotenuse formula, huh, meathead?” Max nodded in agreement “It was actually as simple as that,”

“You mean the square root of the sum of the squares of the two sides?” the tall high schooler seemed to calm down a bit.

Getting nods from the two made Kim groan in disbelief “It was that simple?!” Max chuckled and readjusted his glasses as he descended the steps; hearing Alix violently comfort Kim by slapping his back repeatedly coupled with teasing words.

“Yo, dude,” Nino gestured for Max to come closer “What was your answer for the angle of that isosceles triangle on number seven?” four pairs of expectant eyes fell upon him and Max smiled slightly.

“Sixteen point three degrees,” Adrien seemed to let out a snicker “Told you!” Nino hung his head in defeat and Marinette seemed to panic at the news “But why-“

“Arc secant, Marinette,” Max readjusted his glasses and went on his way, hearing Marinette complain about using the wrong trigonometric function on her scientific calculator; earning her words of sympathy and comfort.

Reaching for the door but not opening it, Max turned around and looked at all of his classmates. They were all animatedly talking about their most recent Trigonometry quiz and a myriad of expressions and outbursts circulated around the room; accompanied with the occasional profanity.

Max felt himself smile and shook his head. It had been a week and a day since the party at Alix’s house and he was feeling quite his normal self again; disregarding the fact that he was just in his academic territory a few minutes ago.

The bespectacled high schooler made sure to monitor his classmate’s numbers ever since last week; and he’s happy to have seen improvements from all of them.

Their numbers rose slightly which meant that they’ve improved in some ways. Juleka’s numbers were still blurry and indiscernible; save for the first two which were a zero and a five.

Max surmised that her number was around five hundred and he thought that it was better than not knowing anything about her numbers at all. Nathanael and Sabrina’s numbers had started to grow closer to each other and the redheaded female seemed to not take Chloe’s side all the time anymore.

Speaking of the blonde, Max was pushed back when she had bumped into him “Out of the way!” she barked as she pushed the door of their classroom open.

“You okay?” Adrien and Nino rushed to help their bespectacled friend up “Yes, I’m quite fine, thank you,” Max pursed his lips and readjusted his glasses “That Chloe’s really going to get a hard lesson someday,” Nino hissed and furrowed at the door.

“Do you want to join us?” Alya interjected, leaning on Adrien and Nino’s desk “We’re all going out to get lunch, how’s that sound?” Nino and Adrien beamed at Max while Marinette nodded her head to welcome him.

“I’d love to,” Max smiled and shook his head “But I best be going home, I’ve got things that I need to work on,” a chorus of disappointment rung through Max’s ears; shortly followed by incessant begging and pleas for him to join him.

Max laughed as he pulled away from Adrien and Nino’s grips “I’m serious!” he smiled widely “We are, too!” Marinette and Alya joined in, tugging at his arms and shirt while the two boys held firmly onto his hands.

The other occupants of the room watched on with amusement as Max was literally absorbed into their group, with Kim laughing at his seat while clutching at his sides “Hey!” the tall high schooler stood up “What the hell do you guys think you’re doing?”

The five from below turned to look at Kim “Don’t go torturing Max and turning him into your fifth wheel, jeez!” the whole class laughed at the comment and Adrien felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips.

“Well if it’s not a problem with you and Alix-“ the blond started, easily earning him looks of confusion from everyone in the room “-how about we make Max a seventh wheel instead, yeah?”

The whole class erupted into cheering and Kim smiled challengingly “How about we all go as a class instead, blondy?” everyone stood up from their seats excitedly, rushing downwards as they started to flock around the five.

Max gulped audibly as he saw his classmates rush downward the stairs; their faces filled with excitement and their movements fuelled with frenzy. The bespectacled high schooler’s eyes darted around the faces of his classmates and they stopped when his gaze had landed squarely on pink-dusted cheeks, blue eyes and a mop of shiny yellow hair.

Blinking a few times and breathing heavily, Max unconsciously started calculating Rose’s number and he quickly shook his head and averted his gaze. Of all his classmates, Rose was the only one he hadn’t calculated yet for over a week.

Max was curious if she was still a zero but also afraid at the same time. He was unsure what he was afraid of but he felt as if a revelation would be made if he had calculated her number; no matter how illogical of a notion it seemed.

But he thought that it was high time that he stopped ignoring this threat and looked up once more; eyes locking into place with brilliant blue ones. Max closed his eyes and took a deep breath, opening them slowly as he started calculating on Rose’s number; much to her confusion at his staring.

As usual, the first zero did not budge a bit and Max could feel his heart race as the second zero skidded to a halt. Rose was extraverted, contrary to her shy nature; which gave her a flat value of four hundred like everyone else.

Her traits are that she is _Caring_ , _Selfless_ and _Gullible_ , which added her a value of fifty to her four hundred; because the first and third trait equalled out to zero.

The three abilities that she possessed are _Gardener, Sympathizer_ and _Optimism Spreader_ ; which added a large value of two hundred fifty on her number; giving her a whopping seven hundred. But keeping her shyness in mind added reductions to her extraverted nature.

Her numbers finally stopped to a halt into six hundred sixty nine and the blonde smiled at him as soon as they did so. Max furrowed his brows when he had seen a zero floating by the right end of her numbers and the bespectacled high schooler quickly rubbed at his eyes.

Checking on her again, he recalculated her numbers and still saw the small zero. A thought struck his mind and he quickly turned to Marinette and calculated her numbers; quickly seeing a small one floating by the same area as Rose’s zero as soon as he finished.

“F-fifth wheel?” Marinette stuttered earning her a curious look from Alya “D-does that mean Adrien and I are-“ Alya laughed “Calm down, girl,” she nudged her friend on the shoulder “It was just a spur of the moment, you know?”

Alya looked at Marinette dead serious in the eyes “But if it isn’t, I’m expecting some answers,” Marinette shook her head and smiled nervously “Me and Adrien? There’s nothing going on between us, I swear-“

“Swear about what, princess?” Adrien draped his arm around Marinette and the raven haired girl could feel her legs dissolve into jelly at the physical contact. The blond smiled toothily and blinked his eyes a few times when he had seen Alya’s rather confused expression.

Gulping audibly and removing his hand from Marinette’s shoulder, Adrien breathed through his nose and started to internally reprimand himself “ _Shit!_ ” he thought.

Not only did he act like Chat Noir for a few brief seconds but he also called Marinette _princess_ ; the nickname he gave her when he’s visiting her as Chat Noir.

“Girl,” Alya huffed, placing both her hands on both of Marinette’s shoulders “Explain. Now.” the bespectacled female shot a glare at Adrien and all the blond could do was smile nervously as he raised his arms slightly in a surrendering fashion.

“E-explain what?” Marinette recovered from her Adrien induced swooning and blinked her eyes a few times in confusion “The arm drape?” Alya pointed towards Adrien “ _Princess?”_ the bespectacled female emphasized, which made Adrien flinch slightly in discomfort.

“Princess?” Marinette furrowed her brows a bit; where had she heard someone call her that before? Adrien was getting more and more nervous as time ticked by and he felt a cold sweat run down the side of his face.

“Greetings, students!” a voice boomed from the speaker in their room “My name is Owlman,” the familiar voice started “Now, you all stay behaved while your friend Chloe Bourgeois is held captive by me,”

“Owlman?” Marinette and Adrien spoke at the same time “Just wait patiently in your rooms ‘til the heroes of Paris come to your rescue,”

A booming sound resounded through the school and the students quickly rushed to the window to take a look at where it came from.

The other end of the school was blasted to smithereens; where a large brown thing flew in the air while it seemingly cackled with delight.

A few seconds later, the speakers burst to life once more “Now, that should be enough to take Ladybug and Chat Noir’s attentions,” Owlman laughed “You all be behaved or else,” the audio got caught off with the screeching noise akin to that of an owl.

“I, uh, have to go to the bathroom,” Adrien fake-smiled and Nino tugged at his arm “Dude! You heard that Owl guy, he might blow you up too, man!” the blond shook his head “I _really_ need to go,” he feigned his insistence and bent his knees downward, and clutched at his lower stomach area.

“I’ll be quick, I promise!” Adrien rushed off to the back of the room but Max quickly looked at him and calculated his numbers; seeing the small one floating at the side right before the blond disappeared out of eyeshot.

“That idiot!” Nino threw off his cap and pulled at his hair “I’ll go after him, to make sure he’s safe,” Nino made a gesture to Alya, to which she replied with a nod “You make sure everyone stays safe inside-“

“Where’s Marinette?” Nino furrowed his brows as he looked at the seemingly empty space that his raven haired friend used to occupy a few seconds ago.

“She’s right-“

“OH MY GOD!” Alya shrieked, earning her the attention of everyone in the room “Marinette?!” the bespectacled female shouted out “If this is a joke, girl, it isn’t funny!” she bit at her lower lip, rushing through every desk and looking below to see if Marinette was hiding underneath.

Nino groaned “Where could she have gone to?!” the others started looking for Marinette but stopped and hid under their desks when explosions could be heard from outside.

Alya was the first to leave her shelter and peeked from out of the window “It’s Ladybug and Chat Noir!” the bespectacled female squealed and quickly took out her phone.

Her classmates flocked behind her and they saw the two heroes facing off against Owlman; who, at a closer look, seemed to be-

“Principal Damocles?” Max muttered out, earning him gasps of shock and disbelief “Why is he akumatized?” the bespectacled high schooler furrowed his brows and thought of the many possible reasons as to why their principal had be turned into a villain.

A thought struck Max when he had remembered Owlman saying something about keeping Chloe Bourgeois hostage “Unbelievable,” Max groaned and went to take a seat on Nino and Adrien’s desk and quickly remembered about the blond.

Looking around the room, Max found no trace of him or of Marinette and he furrowed his brows slightly. Maybe they got caught by Owlman? Maybe they’re outside and trapped somewhere? Or worse-

Max bit at his lower lip at the notion and discreetly left the room by the back door, trying his best not to garner the attention of his classmates.

He didn’t know why he went out of the room but he was shook to his core when the whole school had quaked due to Owlman’s explosion. The mere thought of Adrien and Marinette trapped in some rubble sent chills down his spine.

Max wasn’t a hero like Chat Noir or Ladybug. He wasn’t strong like Ivan or Kim. He wasn’t quick like Alix, either. He was no one, and he could get himself killed.

But the thought of saving his dear friends from trouble pumped adrenaline into his system. Max was rather fond of the two, because they possessed the kind of charisma that he wished that he had.

The bespectacled high schooler was pushed out of his thoughts when he had heard Owlman’s distinct voice and Chat’s teasing one; all the while carefully going down the steps in hopes of finding his friends in the rubble.

Max felt his heart pound and his blood pump through his veins “ _Why am I doing this?!_ ” he internally reprimanded himself, rushing past the three occupants of the ground floor of the school.

“What’s this?!” Owlman seethed “Did I not tell you to stay behaved?!” he sent out a flurry of feathers that Ladybug and Chat Noir easily deflected with their weapons “I thought owls are supposed to represent wisdom?” the blond superhero taunted.

“You missed, you oversived avian!” an explosion from behind them alerted the two heroes and they quickly looked behind them. Max stood still as the building collapsed onto him, seemingly frozen by fear.

“Max!” the two screamed in unison, with Chat Noir propelling himself forward using the end of his baton. Ladybug readied her yo-yo but stopped when Chat had spoken “Go distract him, my lady!”

The raven haired hero reluctantly turned around and swung her yo-yo, easily catching the distracted Owlman in her string. The sound of rubble crashing behind her made Ladybug quickly turn around once more.

“Chat?! Max?!” she called out, letting her yo-yo fall to the ground as she heard no response from the two.

“They’re dead, Ladybug!” Owlman taunted, landing on his talons “Now, give me your Miraculous and I promise not to hurt the students,”

Ladybug turned around and grit her teeth, tears forming at the edge of her eyes “Lucky Charm!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed!


	19. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max seemed to snap back to his senses as he felt himself fly through the air, landing with a thud on the ground as his eyes fell upon Chat Noir who was going to be engulfed by the collapsing debris.  
> “Adrien!” Max screamed as he scrambled to his feet, falling to the ground as he lost his balance when he had stepped on the blond’s staff.

“Ugh, _meow-ch_ ,” Chat Noir rubbed at the crown of his head and hissed in irritation when he felt a sharp pain come from it.

“Are you okay?” the black-clad hero turned around and planted his arms on his hips, raising an eyebrow curiously at the slightly shaken high schooler that sat on the ground behind him.

Opening his mouth but finding no voice escape it, Max resorted to nodding vigorously; which earned him a grin from the blond.

“What a relief,” slumping to the ground and supporting himself using his arms as he leaned backwards, Chat’s ears twitched when rubble and dust fell upon his head.

Max blinked a few times in surprise; mainly due to the fact that he and Chat were _still alive_ -

Thanks to Chat’s staff, Max thought, as he eyed the weapon standing upright behind Chat whilst it supported the large chunk of ceiling that would have more or less squished the two of them into oblivion.

More dust fell upon Chat’s head and the blond shook his head violently “Ugh, I got some in my mouth,” Chat stuck his tongue out and furrowed his brows; now Max was more confused by the fact that Adrien was rather calm given the circumstances.

“So, any plans, Max?” the blond spoke up and snapped Max out of his trance, making the bespectacled high schooler blink a few times in surprise.

“Let me see,” readjusting his glasses and calculating the angle of the large debris behind Chat, Max surmised that digging their way out would take too much time and Chat’s staff would give way and they’d both end up crushed.

But then a thought struck Max “You have that disintegration ability, right?” he asked Chat curiously and the blond sported a proud grin.

“So, where do I go, boss?” the blond stood up and dusted his hair and pants, planting his arms on his hips and slightly tapping his foot on the ground.

Max looked around and stood up as well, tiptoeing towards the edges of their debris cage and slightly pressing his ear against what was once the ceiling of their school.

The bespectacled high schooler’s eyes widened in surprise and he quickly turned to Adrien “Here!” Max pointed towards the wall of stones and roofing directly beside him.

“This is the plan,” readjusting his glasses and jerking a thumb towards the target, Max frowned slightly.

“You use your disintegration powers and we have exactly-“ looking around for a few seconds and glaring at Adrien’s staff, Max nodded “Seven point three seconds right after you take your staff before the debris caves in,”

Nodding in agreement, Adrien walked towards the stone wall and took a deep breath “You ready?” the blond asked to which Max replied with a nod as he readied himself to make a run for it as soon as the opening appears.

“Okay,” Adrien inhaled “Cataclysm!” he roared, his right hand glowing an ominous black while globules of pitch black orbited around his arm.

Time slowed down and Max could feel his heart beat resonate throughout his chest; as soon as Adrien makes the opening, he’s going to run out and hope that the blond is fast enough to-

Wait, Adrien?

Max had been calling the black-clad superhero _Adrien_ in his thoughts for a while now; the notion was laughable and the bespectacled high schooler almost felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips.

Time returned to its normal pace as realization dawned upon Max.

Looking at the blond with wide eyes as everything made sense to him, Max opened his mouth to speak but Adrien, who was Chat Noir right now, had already punched into the wall in front of them.

Max stood frozen in place as Chat made a beeline for his staff before adroitly turning around and rushing towards the opening in one swift motion.

The blond had easily exited the cage of stones and roofing in the span of a few seconds and smiled triumphantly “Alright!” Chat exclaimed as he turned to make a fist bump at Max.

But Max was nowhere to be seen.

“Max-“ Chat’s eyes widened in surprise as he saw the bespectacled high schooler stand frozen inside of the debris prison, hand stretched out and face full of shock and disbelief.

“Max?!” Chat called a second time but found no response from his classmate and the rumbling of rubble made his ears twitch.

In one swift motion, Chat Noir propelled himself forward and took Max’s outstretched arm before using all of his might to fling the bespectacled high schooler outside of their trap.

Max seemed to snap back to his senses as he felt himself fly through the air, landing with a thud on the ground as his eyes fell upon Chat Noir who was going to be engulfed by the collapsing debris.

“Adrien!” Max screamed as he scrambled to his feet, falling to the ground as he lost his balance when he had stepped on the blond’s staff.

Furrowing his brows and quickly taking the staff into his arms, Max had recalled seeing Chat extend the weapon in some sort of way-

Accidentally pressing on the button with a paw print on it made the staff elongate exponentially, making Max yelp out in surprise as he tightened his grip on the ever-extending weapon.

“Thanks!” Chat screamed out as he grinned with confidence, taking the staff with both arms as he easily slid out of the crack as Max struggled to pull him out.

The debris behind Chat completely came down and the blond stood up and whistled to himself “Wow!” the blond didn’t seem fazed at all by the endeavor that they had just been in-

In the blink of an eye, Chat had suddenly lifted Max off of the ground by gripping on the collar of his shirt; a look of pure seriousness etched onto the blond’s features.

“How did you find out,” Chat deadpanned and Max gulped audibly.

“Find out wha-“

An explosion made the two boys flinch in surprise, and Max became even more surprised when Chat had let go of the collar of his shirt.

Taking his staff from the ground, Chat glared at the bespectacled high schooler “We can talk about this later,”

“My lady!” the blond screamed and rushed to the fray, distracting Owlman just in time for Ladybug, who was at the end of her wits, to execute her plan to defeat him.

Max watched the two heroes fight the akuma slightly dumfounded; his brain was still processing the fact that he understood that Chat Noir _was_ Adrien and that Adrien _was_ Chat Noir-

Then the blond hero in question suddenly tenses up, which is very unbecoming of his playful side. Max thought long and hard as to why exactly Chat had reacted in that way.

Or was it more appropriate to refer to him as _Adrien_ now?

Looking at the blond and seeing him absolutely enjoy himself by taunting Owlman and being successful in doing so, Max furrowed his brows and found it rather ridiculous that he thought Chat was Adrien.

They were opposites of the spectrum; Adrien was reserved and cautious.

While Chat was brash and impulsive.

Then again, both of the blonds _were_ rather charismatic.

A thought struck him and Max bit at his lower lip; he had _actually called_ out to Chat as Adrien earlier. Perhaps that was the reason why the blond superhero seemed so upset about something.

“ _How did you find out_ ,” the words rang out in Max’s ears and he gulped audibly. Turning to look at Owlman being easily subdued by the two heroes, the bespectacled high schooler calculated Chat’s numbers and pursed his lips when he had recognized Adrien’s number from just a few minutes ago; even that quaintly small number one floated right beside Chat’s number.

Chat slammed his staff downward onto Owlman’s head “Whoops!” the blond hero snickered as he easily landed on the ground on all fours “That must’ve hurt, huh, _bird-brain_?”

Owlman screeched in irritation and turned around with a flurry of his wings, sending a dozen exploding feathers towards Chat Noir.

The black-clad hero jumped and ducked around with the dexterity of a cat, extending his staff which connected to the bird akuma’s face, making it reel back in pain “Headshot!” Chat snickered as he rushed towards Owlman.

Throwing her yo-yo and effectively trapping Owlman in its string, Ladybug chucked her lucky charm towards Chat “Tie his feet together!” the raven haired hero ordered.

Chat caught the item in his hands and furrowed his brows a bit “Dental floss?” the blond smiled a bit but flinched in surprise when Ladybug had barked “Just do it, Chat!”

Popping the lid open and pulling the string as far as he could, Chat ran towards the temporarily immobilized Owlman and started circling around the akuma; extending the length of the dental floss every now and then.

Standing up and nudging at Owlman’s abdomen using the tip of his foot, Chat snickered “Sorry about that, little birdy,” smiling triumphantly as the akuma fell backward and struggled in his constraints, it growled “Let go of me!”

Ladybug strutted forward and placed a hand her chin “So what do you think the akumatized item is, my lady?” Chat asked curiously as he made his way beside her, surveying the large bundle of feathers in front of them as well.

“Ah!” the raven haired hero saw a ballpoint pen jutting out by Owlman’s chest area; seemingly latched onto a stack of feathers stylized into a necktie.

Taking the ballpen and snapping it with her hands, the familiar purple butterfly flutters out and Ladybug readies her yo-yo.

Easily catching it with her weapon and cleansing it of its negative energies, a pure white butterly flies out and Ladybug waves at it goodbye “Bye bye, butterfly,” she muttered as a smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

Kneeling down and taking the dental floss on the ground, Ladybug tossed it into the air “Miraculous Ladybug!” she smiled as a wave of red and black passed through everything; repairing all the damage that had happened to their school during the fight.

Cheering and whistling resounded through the hall as the students, teachers and staff of the collège all exited their hiding places to show their appreciation for the two heroes of Paris.

The students from their class rushed down the stairs right after Alya and surrounded the two heroes, with Kim, Alix and Rose rushing over to where Max sat on the ground.

“Dude, what the hell were you thinking?” Kim frowned so hard that Max could have sworn that his friend was wearing the exact same expression for the last few minutes.

“Uh, I-“ a punch on the shoulder from Alix snapped Max out of his stupor “If you wanted to die you could’ve just jumped off the roof, idiot!” the pinkette looked just as shaken as Kim, and Max pursed his lips at how uncharacteristically stupid he had just acted.

“Alix!” Rose exclaimed and quickly covered her mouth with her hands “I-I’m sorry for screaming,” she squeaked as Kim and Alix looked at her strangely.

Then they turned to look at Max.

Then back to Rose.

Kim and Alix looked at each other at the same time and smiles quickly appeared on their faces “Just be sure not to act stupid in the future, buddy,” Kim’s smile did not let up for a moment and Max was slightly confused by his sudden change of mood.

Ladybug rushed past the four of them followed by Chat Noir but the black-clad hero turned to look at Max and glared at him.

Going towards the bespectacled high schooler and placing both of his hands on Max’s shoulders, Chat examined him from head to toe “You alright?” the blond quipped and Max was even more confused at this point.

“I’m fine,” Max gulped audibly and Chat smiled “Thank you?” the bespectacled high schooler furrowed his brows slightly when Chat had smiled at the other three before rushing outside of the school.

Max had his eyes glued to the entrance of their school even after Chat Noir had disappeared and all sounds became muffled to his ears.

So many questions rushed through his head and Max quickly turned around when a commotion had started behind him.

“Oh my God, girl!” Alya wrapped her arms around Marinette “Where did you go?!” the bespectacled female had tears forming at the corner of her eyes “A-Alya, I’m fine!” Marinette smiled reassuringly and embraced back.

“I was just on my way to the comfort room and got blockaded by the debris,” the raven haired girl explained “Y-yeah, me too!” Adrien suddenly interjected; seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

Everyone started empathizing with the two and explained what had just happened to their school; looks of mock surprise and shock appeared on their faces, Max noted.

Max was taken aback when Adrien had turned to look at him with seemingly a blank expression at first but quickly turned into a grin that only one person he knew could pull off-

 _Chat Noir_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a slightly late update for y'all.  
> I hope you guys enjoyed!


	20. Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taking Max by the collar of his shirt again, Adrien growled “Don’t you dare let anyone know,”  
> “I don’t give a damn if you tell all of Paris who I really am but if you even tell a single soul who Ladybug is I’ll-“  
> “Adri-“ Max choked and the blond quickly put him down, his eyes widening in horror at the sudden realization.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, the penultimate chapter!  
> I'd like to thank everyone who's stuck around with me and this story in advance!  
> Thanks so much, friends!

“Chat Noir, huh?” Max pursed his lips at the notion; he had just seen his blond classmate in a new light. Adrien wasn’t just the son of Gabriel Agreste, who was one of the greatest designers in all of Paris. Adrien wasn’t just the handsome cover boy for many of the world’s fashion magazines. Adrien wasn’t _just_ their classmate.

Adrien was Chat Noir.

And Chat Noir was Adrien.

Slightly slumping on the wall behind him, Max felt his legs shake a bit at the revelation.

“ _Whoa_ ,” he muttered out, combing back his hair as he took all that information in.

So that meant that _every_ _single time_ an akuma came along and threatened the safety of Paris’ citizens, Adrien would always go somewhere to transform into Chat Noir and save the day.

Max certainly held his blond friend in high regard, but his respect and admiration for Adrien just went through the roof when he had pieced together everything.

All remaining classes were suspended because the students’ safety came first. Prinicpal Damocles had personally apologized for the trouble that he’s caused to everyone right after the two heroes had “left”.

Most of his classmates stood by the lobby of the collège and were animatedly conversing with each other.

Some of them, namely Nathanael, Chloe and Sabrina had all left for home after the incident, while Ivan and Mylene were seemingly helping Mr. Haprele around the school.

The others were busy exchanging stories about the most recent akuma attack while Adrien and Marinette acted surprised or shocked with their stories.

Adrien, Max could understand why. But why did Marinette seem like her surprise wasn’t… _sincere_.

Eyeing the raven haired girl carefully, Max’s eyes widened in realization when his brain had pieced everything again.

Max hated surprises.

But now that he thought about it, the fact that Marinette and Adrien were Paris’ heroes wasn’t really _that_ farfetched.

That explained why their numbers were in perfect sync. The very fact that they were partners was proof of this.

That also explained why Marinette and Adrien’s numbers were rather high for students in collège; while Ladybug and Chat Noir’s numbers seemed a bit low for crime fighting superheroes.

But what Max couldn’t understand was why Marinette seemed so fidgety around Adrien. Was it a ruse? A sort of façade to dissuade anyone into thinking that they were actually Paris’ greatest heroes?

Max had to hand it to the two of them, though, the latter worked wonders. Hissing in irritation as he felt a smile creep up the corner of his lips, Max thought how _ridiculous_ it was how Ladybug looked like Marinette and how Adrien looked like Chat Noir; and he wasn’t even able to tell the two apart from their hero personas.

A child could’ve made that observation!

Before this revelation, however, Max was unsure why it did not feel right at all that Adrien and Chat Noir looked alike. It seemed like some sort of indescribable force made him shrug off the very idea every time it came to mind.

Max shook his head and looked upward when he had noticed someone towering over him.

“We need to talk,” Adrien deadpanned while his face contained all the seriousness that the blond could muster. It was just like earlier; only he wasn’t about to rip Max’s head off.

Nodding in agreement, Max pushed himself off of the wall and took one last glance at his classmates.

They were still at it with the storytelling and Max noticed Marinette laughing along with the others, before looking over to their direction.

The raven haired girl’s focus seemed to go to Adrien, then quickly went to Max when she had noticed that they were exiting the school.

Max’s eyes fell upon brilliant blue ones and the bespectacled high schooler furrowed his brows a bit. Marinette seemed to look confused but Max smiled at her and gave her a thumbs up, giving her a signal that everything was going to be fine.

Oh, how Max hoped it would be.

 ---

“So,” Adrien started, stern and serious “Do you want to die?”

The sudden question made Max’s stomach turn and his heart beat faster than it ever had in his life.

“Wh-what?” the bespectacled high schooler muttered out and took one step backward. He was sure he could at least run away and hide somewhere before Chat Noir could catch up.

What did Kim say about running away? Long strides and short breaths? Max gulped audibly and readied himself to make a run for it, thinking of the different scenarios on how Chat Noir would kill him off-

“Relax,” Adrien snorted as he noticed that sudden defensive stance that Max was taking “I just-“

“I’ve always wanted to say that jokingly whenever someone found out,” the blond smiled genuinely, something that Max had never seen before.

“What?” was all that left Max’s mouth and Adrien guffawed as he took a seat by the stone steps.

“We are on the same page, right?” the blond didn’t turn to look at Max and seemingly slumped in his seat “That I’m-“

“Chat Noir,” Max finished for him as he took a seat beside Adrien, and the blond closed his eyes as his smile grew ever larger.

“How’d you find out?” he turned to look at his bespectacled friend and Max shrugged.

“The numbers,” Max turned to look at Adrien and calculated his numbers. The blond’s digits seemed to increase by a few points and Max surmised that it was the battle experience he had just got from Owlman.

Max knew that Chat Noir was Adrien; so the least he could do was divulge a secret of his own.

“I can calculate people’s numbers using their personalities, abilities and traits,” Max started, looking down on his hands as he fidgeted with his fingers.

“Your numbers just seemed to match up with Chat Noir’s every time I had met with him-“

“You mean me?” Adrien snickered as he interjected and Max laughed as well.

“Yes, _you_ ,” the bespectacled high schooler felt relief wash over him as he finally let all of these things out and he sighed as he reclined using his arms.

The two fell into a comfortable silence until Adrien cleared his throat “So, uh, no excited comments or a ton of questions?”

Max turned to look at the blond curiously and wordlessly asked him what he meant “I mean, I was kind of looking forward to flaunting all my awesomeness to whoever found out first,”

Max snorted and stifled a snicker while Adrien did the same “I suppose I’m kind of disappointed that you’re the first one to know my secret,”

“Why’s that?” Max raised an eyebrow curiously and looked at the blond intently.

“I won’t be able to flaunt my awesomeness,” Adrien smiled genuinely again “You’re a logical person, you don’t really sweat the details unless they affect the outcome,”

“True,” Max laughed as he looked up to the sky and slightly squinted his eyes “But I’m also relieved that you were the first one to know my secret,” the blond continued.

“I’m glad that it was a friend I could trust,”

Max felt a warmness spread through his whole body. He never had any friends save for Kim and hearing those words from Adrien evoked a feeling of happiness for him.

Max’s lip quivered and he felt himself about to cry; but it wasn’t the time for that right now.

“Whoo!” Adrien lay on his back and looked up towards the sky as well “It feels _really_ good to finally get that out of my system,”

“It does,” Max smiled as well and turned to look at the blond. Thoughts of his Operation for him suddenly nagging on his mind.

“Say,” Max started and Adrien looked at him curiously “Are you and Ladybug a… _thing_?”

A flash of pain appeared on Adrien’s features but the blond quickly pushed them away as he smiled widely “I wish,”

“So you two are not?” Max furrowed his brows a bit. That didn’t make much sense; they were partners in, well, not crime and they went around on a daily basis risking their lives not only for Paris’ citizens but also for each other.

“Nah,” Adrien’s lip quivered for a moment “I don’t even know who she is under the mask,”

All the pieces started to fall into place again; the fact that Marinette and Adrien seemed to interact strangely around each other made sense now that Max understood that they weren’t aware that they were actually crime fighting partners.

“I see,” nodding his head in agreement, Max straightened himself “Would you like to know who she is?”

Snorting, Chat Noir shook his head “I’m good,” but then the blond suddenly shot up from his lying down and looked at Max straight in the eyes.

“You know who she is?” Adrien didn’t move and Max gulped audibly “Y-yes-“

Taking Max by the collar of his shirt again, Adrien growled “Don’t you dare let anyone know!”

“I don’t give a damn if you tell all of Paris who I really am but if you even tell a single soul who Ladybug is I’ll-“

“Adri-“ Max choked and the blond quickly put him down, his eyes widening in horror at the sudden realization.

“I-I’m so sorry-“ Adrien bit back a sob as he looked at Max; shirt collar almost ripped off while he gasped for air.

It took the bespectacled high schooler a good minute or two before his breathing finally calmed down.

Adrien stood still at where he was, ready to take anything that Max was willing to throw at him-

“I-I won’t tell anyone,” Max coughed and readjusted his glasses “I just assumed you knew who she was being partners and all,”

The reassuring smile that Max gave him ate Adrien inside. Here he was, almost choking his newfound confidant to death; and he was just joking about killing him earlier, too.

“But I do know who she is under the mask,” Max continued as he rubbed at his neck “I promise not to tell anyone,”

Slumping beside Max and pursing his lips, Adrien felt angry at himself for lashing out at Max earlier. It was ironic how he just literally called him a “friend that he could trust” but at the mention of Ladybug’s civilian identity, he had thrown all the “trust” out of the window.

“I’m sorry,” Adrien sniffled as he felt tears forming at the edge of his eyes. The blond buried his face into his own arms “I just care about Ladybug so much that if she ever got hurt-“

“It’s okay,” Max placed a reassuring arm on the blond’s shoulder “I completely understand, Adrien,” the blond wept silently in his own arms and Max tapped and rubbed his back soothingly “There, there,”

Looking up to the sky and smiling a bit, Max sighed in relief as he closed his eyes.

 ---

“You really don’t want to know?” Max asked curiously as he readjusted the strap of his bag on his shoulder.

“Nah,” Adrien smiled weakly “I made a promise that I’d respect her privacy,” the blond stretched his arms upward and placed an arm on Max’s shoulder.

“Thanks,” the blond smiled “For earlier,”

“And sorry for almost choking the life out of you,” Adrien smiled sheepishly and rubbed at the back of his head “I have no idea what came over me,”

Max shook his head and smiled back “It’s fine,”

The sound of a familiar car horn entered their ears and Adrien’s eyes lit up “Oh, my ride’s here,”

“See you tomorrow!” the blond waved at Max before making his way inside of the car of his chauffeur.

Waving back and gripping on the strap of his bag, Max descended the steps and raised an eyebrow when the window to Adrien’s car had slowly rolled down.

“Who’s the next Operation, anyway?” the blond asked with a smile and Max shrugged.

“It was supposed to be for you,” Max started and shook his head “But you’ve already given your heart to a certain _lady_ ,”

“So I suppose I’ll just cancel off your Operation,” Max smiled and Adrien noticed the hint of disappointment in it.

“Oh, I see,” the blond nodded in an agreeing manner “Want me to give you a ride home?” Adrien offered with a smile, to which Max answered with a shake of his head.

“Thank you, but no thank you,” Max shook his head “I’d like to get some fresh air after all… _that_ ,”

Snorting, Adrien shook his head “Tell me about it,”

“Well, you be safe going home!” Adrien smiled one last time before the window of his car rolled upward and Max waved once more as he watched the car disappear.

Max smiled to himself and started walking home. He _could_ continue on with the Operation; Marinette _was_ Ladybug, after all.

It would be beneficial for them both, he thought, but putting in the fact that neither of the two knew that they were actually partners would certainly raise some problems in their relationship.

Max pocketed his hands and started to whistle a certain tune, he thought that it would be best if the two of them managed to uncover their respective secrets on their own.

They _were_ the greatest heroes of Paris, anyway.

 ---

Adrien smiled in his seat and flinched suddenly when he had gotten a text from Nino, asking him if he wanted to go check out that new video game that just got released.

“ _I’m pretty tired, maybe some other time, bro,_ ” he texted back and quickly got a disappointed reply in the span of a few seconds.

Recalling all the Operations that they had done, Adrien smiled at how intuitively productive Max could be. The blond certainly saw improvement in everyone ever since they started doing the Operations and Adrien was thankful to his bespectacled friend for that.

Adrien was pleased that Max called off his Operation because he knew that the blond only had his eyes on Ladybug. Adrien’s smile slowly vanished and he was kind of sad that they’re done with their crazy Operations.

It’s only been a month or so since they started and Adrien was the last one on the list, too.

Disappointment coursed through his veins and Adrien furrowed his brows a moment. A long moment.

How about Max?

The blond’s eyes lit up and he quickly phoned for Nino.

“Hey, dude,” he started and Nino excitedly started telling him how they’re going to that video game store.

“Yeah, we are,” the blond smiled smugly “Who did you say Max liked?”

“ _I’m not entirely sure, bro. But I suppose Rose?_ ”

Rose? Sweet Rose who went around spreading love and sunshine?

Adrien stifled a laugh “Really? Well I’ll see you in a few at the store,”

“ _Why’d you suddenly ask?_ ” Nino asked curiously and Adrien shook his head.

“Call the others, too-“ the blond smiled.

“We’re going to plan for Operation: Thank you,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed!


	21. Conclusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiny pink lips and, well, rosy cheeks. Max couldn’t help but stare for a moment but quickly took his seat when Rose had felt something amiss and looked up to see what was going on.  
> Good thing she hadn’t caught him staring.  
> But God, she was beautiful today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really apologize for the delay of this update!
> 
> Here it is, last chapter, friends!  
> I'd like to thank everyone in advance for sticking around with me and this story.  
> I had never imagined that my first work for this fandom would be so well received, and it warms my heart to know that I entertain and amuse so many of you, my dear readers!  
> Anyway, here we go, enjoy this last chapter!  
> Or is it?

“What are they doing?” the younger of the two men leaned in towards his superior, speaking with a slightly hushed tone.

“It’s none of your business,” the older man spat “Go back to realigning the game cartridges,”

“But sir, they’ve been huddled over there for almost an hour-“

“Game cartridges!” the older man suddenly turned around and glared daggers at his subordinate “Now,”

The younger man yelped and ran off towards the nearest shelf, realigning and readjusting the games and making them look neat.

Snorting, the older man turned to look at the congregation of boys near the entrance of his store; his gaze softening a bit when his eyes had fell upon a familiar mop of yellow hair and a bright red cap.

 ---

“That’ll never work,” Kim shook his head.

“That’s what you’ve been saying for the past hour, dude,” Nino’s shoulders slumped and he sighed exasperatedly.

“Because it’s true,” the Korean shrugged and stood his ground.

“What do you suggest we do, then?” Nathanael squeaked and yelped in discomfort when the other boys had turned to look at him.

“Well,” Kim tapped at his chin and turned to look at the games to his right and took one into his hand.

“How about we set them up in this disgustingly cliché scenario where Rose falls on him or something?” Kim suggested and Nino groaned.

“We’ve already did that scenario for you,” the DJ pursed his lips and took the game from Kim’s hands.

“Hey! I was reading that!” the Korean furrowed his brows and tried to snatch the game away from Nino, starting a struggle between the two; until they both let go of the game and it fell to the ground.

Taking the game from the ground, Ivan’s eyes shone a bit “Neko Kiss 3,” he muttered and all the other boys turned to look at him incredulously.

Except for Adrien.

“Oh, is the third instalment out?!” the blond quickly leaned in to take a look at the game cartridge “Maaan, I’ve been waiting for this-“

“You too?” Ivan smiled at the blond and shook his head “The last main scenario from the second game really left you hanging, huh?”

Adrien laughed “I know, right!” taking the game in his hands and turning it over, the blond smiled “Especially that third event from the second to the last scenario in the main adventure-“

“Ah, where Neko turned everyone into mice and she has to turn them back to normal without eating them?” Ivan snickered.

“Yeah!” the blond placed an arm on his large classmate’s shoulder “Oh, and that other one where-“

The two pursed their lips and felt the awkward silence fall upon their group; turning slowly towards their companions and feeling nervousness course through veins.

Nathanael was frowning so hard that it looked like he was in pain. The redhead turned to the shelf and took a game into his hand, with his brows furrowing even further.

If that were even possible.

Kim blinked a few times in confusion and nodded his head while Nino shook his head in disbelief.

“Weebs,” Kim and Nino spoke up at the same time, making Adrien and Ivan lower their heads a bit.

 ---

“Like a romcom?” Nino asked incredulously as he pushed the door of the shop open.

“Well, technically, yes,” Adrien nodded in agreement exiting the building right after his bespectacled friend.

“But that would mean we would ask for help from the girls,” Nathanael interjected as he followed the two, waiting for Kim and Ivan who exited right behind him.

“That’s why it’s stupid,” Kim interjected “But I suppose it will work,”

“And thanks to Max we’re in good terms with all of them,” the Korean smiled proudly which made Nathanael slowly nod his head in agreement.

“I suppose,” the redhead shrugged.

“Except for Chloe, though,” Nino said jokingly and the boys all laughed along.

“So, is Operation: Thank you all set?” Adrien turned around and surveyed the reactions of his companions, smiling when they had all nodded in agreement.

“Okay, let’s make this happen!” the blond pumped his fist into the air “You guys make sure to tell the girls as soon as you get to school tomorrow, alright?”

Each of them nodded in agreement before going their separate ways and Adrien felt a sense of accomplishment course through his veins, and the blond couldn’t help but smile widely at the events that had just transpired.

Clutching the paper bag that housed his purchase tightly, Adrien ran off home, eager to see how tomorrow unfolds.

And to finally have closure with Neko.

 ---

_Ding._

Furrowing his brows at the familiar ringing sound, Max turned in his sleep.

 _Ding_.

Again, that blasted noise pierced through the silence of his room and the not bespectacled high schooler wasn’t too keen on being disturbed in his sleep.

_Din-_

And the alarm is finally turned off.

Max sat up from his bed and rubbed at his eyes while yawning in the process. Pushing himself off of the bed and going to his desk, he took his glasses and placed them snugly on the bridge of his nose.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Max smiled a bit, closing his eyes for a moment before he started calculating his numbers.

Furrowing his brows a bit, Max was confused to see that his numbers had increased a tad bit. Perhaps it was because of his knowledge of Adrien being Chat Noir?

But what perplexed him the most was the small zero that floated at the side of his numbers; much like the small number ones that floated right beside Adrien and Marinette’s-

But he had a _zero_.

Max’s eyes widened in disbelief and he quickly shook his head, his numbers disappearing in the process.

Quickly recalculating them again, Max pursed his lips when he had seen the small zero float idly by the side of his numbers.

He had a zero at the side.

Just like… _her_.

What did it mean?

Why did he have a zero?

Where did it come from?

Why was it suddenly there?

“Max?” a familiar female voice cut through his thoughts and Max blinked his eyes owlishly “Are you okay?” the same voice asked and he turned around to come face to face with his mother.

“I’m fine, mom,” he smiled a bit weakly and made his way over to her to plant a kiss on her cheek “Just got up,”

“I heard your alarm die off but you hadn’t come down for breakfast,” his mother looked at him with concern “Is something on your mind?”

Shaking his head, Max smiled sincerely now “I’m fine, mom,” he repeated the statement and sniffed at the air “That smells good,”

“Hotcake and sausages,” his mother smiled “Your favorite,”

“Thanks, mom,”

 ---

Chewing on a half-eaten sausage as it dangled off of his mouth, Max made his way towards school; gripping onto the strap of his bag as he felt a smile creep up the corner of his lips.

But he quickly pursed them when his beloved sausage almost fell from his mouth. Taking the food item into his mouth completely, Max ate the last bits of it as he saw the collège from afar.

Quickening his pace, Max felt the fresh morning air pass by his face and sniffled a bit. It was a rather cold morning, much colder than any other day of the month, he thought.

Rushing up the steps and giving one huff as he entered the school, Max greeted mister Haprele good morning and went his way to his classroom. The bespectacled high schooler felt a bit giddy more than usual; though he didn’t know why.

Perhaps because his mother had whipped up his favorite meal?

Or perhaps because it was the fact that he had just stumbled upon the greatest secret that the two heroes of Paris were holding onto?

Or was it because he had a zero-

Like Rose?

The last thought sent blood rushing to Max’s cheeks and he quickly shook his head in response. So what if he had a zero like Rose? It didn’t mean anything.

Not like the one that floated by Marinette and Adrien’s numbers. That was justifiable. They were partners, Max thought.

Though the fact that neither of them actually _knew_ that was kind of amusing.

Entering the clasroom and freezing in place when he had his brown eyes had fell upon bright blue ones, Max gulped audibly and he could have sworn that he felt his face heat up even more.

Rose blinked a few times as she seemingly scrutinized Max; finally smiling after a minute or two and waving at him.

Max waved back and smiled nervously, lowering his head slightly as he made his way towards his seat.

Stealing a glance at her, Max noticed that she was working on something on her desk; the assignment from Ms. Bustier, no less.

Her slightly scrunched brow accompanied by strands of her golden hair that fell just above her lashes gave her an adorable look.

Shiny pink lips and, well, _rosy_ cheeks. Max couldn’t help but stare for a moment but quickly took his seat when Rose had felt something amiss and looked up to see what was going on.

Good thing she hadn’t caught him staring.

But God, she was beautiful today.

Wait, what?

Max furrowed his brows and could feel his heart pound through his skin. He could feel all the blood rushing to his head. Groaning a bit, the bespectacled high schooler shook his head and thought of all the reasons why he was acting so strange today.

Rose seemed to have caught wind of his strange behavior and furrowed her brows as well “Are you okay?” her voice came out almost like a whisper as she reached out and placed a tender hand on Max’s shoulder.

Max quickly shot up “Imfinethankyou!” garbling and rushing out of their room, Max made a beeline to the comfort room and went directly to the sink; splashing his face with water and clutching at his frantically beating heart-

_What was wrong with him today?_

 ---

Classes went by rather quickly and no akuma attack had happened to prevent miss Bustier’s dreaded pop quiz.

Well, Max couldn’t really call it ‘dreaded’ because frankly, he enjoyed miss Bustier’s quizzes.

He enjoyed _all_ of his teacher’s quizzes.

Kim quickly left his seat as soon as the quiz was passed forward, dragging Alix with him as he went to the back of the room to animatedly discuss something to Nathanael and Ivan.

Max didn’t really mind Kim not even asking anything about the quiz but he _was_ rather confused as to why Kim _didn’t_ ask anything about the quiz.

That was routine: Kim asks something about the quiz, Max almost always corrects him, Kim goes into a trance of how he’s going to fail, Max reassures him that he doesn’t, Alix jeers at him.

It was normalcy in Max’s life whenever a quiz happens; but none of those things happened. At all.

Adrien and Nino seemed to be talking excitedly about something with Marinette and Alya and Max noticed that the four had turned to look at him but quickly avert their gazes when four pairs of eyes had fell upon his.

Weird.

Cue Chloe with a bit of her incessant clinging to Adrien, much to the chagrin of Alya, only to be driven off by Adrien’s polite declining.

Now, _that_ was routine, Max thought. And he blinked his eyes a few times in surprise as Kim and Alix rushed downward towards the four he had just been observing.

Kim had that stupid grin on his face and Max suddenly felt more terrified that curious at this point. Whenever Kim had that smile meant that his Korean friend was up to something.

And whenever he was up to something, he’d consult Max first.

But he didn’t.

 _Shit_.

Taking his bag and putting it on his person, Max shot up from his seat and passed by Nathanael and Ivan.

“Excuse me,” he smiled slightly as he made his way towards the back entrance of their room, quickly opening the door and leaving.

Closing the door behind him, Max sighed in relief. He felt like something bad was going to happen and he felt like it was going to be about him.

Quickly going to the stairs and descending them with haste, Max gulped audibly when he had heard the all too familiar creak of the door to their classroom.

“Hey, dude!” Nino’s voice cut through the silence “Where’re you going?”

Max stopped in his tracks and could feel his heart beat faster in his chest “Uh, h-home?” he turned around and started fiddling with the strap of his bag, signalling that he was nervous.

Nino furrowed his brows a bit and took notice of this gesture “Oh, but we actually wanted to discuss something with you,” the DJ  made a gesture for Max to come back up and the bespectacled high schooler felt more nervousness overcome his senses.

“Oh, you can just text me about it, I really have to go home-“

“We insist,” Adrien had suddenly appeared behind Max, gripping firmly onto his shoulder.

“Whoa, dude!” Nino frowned and peeked inside of the room and quickly back outside “How’d you get out there so fast?!”

The blond shrugged and smiled cheekily “It’s just one of my _many_ talents,”

“Right, Max?” Adrien waggled his eyebrows and gave Max that signature _Chat_ grin of his.

Max pursed his lips and started to go back to their classroom “R-right,”

 ---

Entering their classroom once more, Max gulped audibly when he had seen the congregation of students by the door; composed of Nino, Marinette, Alya, Kim, Alix, Mylene and Ivan.

As soon as Adrien and Max entered the room, the females of the group stifled their laughter and quickly went away to the back of the room; going to Juleka and Rose’s direction.

“ _Oh no_ ,” Max had a pretty good idea what was going to happen next and he gulped audibly when Adrien had forcefully made him sit down on Nino’s seat.

“Okay, while Sabrina and Nathanael are distracting Chloe we’re going to go with plans, alright?” Kim smiled and the other boys nodded, leaving the group.

Only Adrien and Kim remained and the two smiled at Max “So,” the Korean started “We really wanted to show our appreciation for all your Operations so we decided to thank you!”

Adrien nodded “Yes, so as soon as Kim comes back in about fifteen minutes or so you and Rose should follow him,”

 _Oh no_.

“Rose?” Max gulped audibly “Wh-what about Rose?” the nervousness in his voice just fuelled the two even further.

“It’s a surprise, man,” Kim smiled mischievously as he and Adrien went towards the back of the room.

Max followed them with his eyes and sighed in exasperation. His gut feeling had been right on the money; and he didn’t even _need_ to do any calculations for that one.

In the span of half a minute the whole room was emptied; even Chloe had been persuaded by the two redheads, though the blonde was rather _confused_ by the fact that Nathanael was rather _chummy_ with her.

Max sat frozen in his seat and he could feel Rose’s gaze burning the back of his head. The bespectacled high schooler bit at his lower lip and shook his head.

He didn’t need to wait here; he could make a run for it right now. Rose was the only one in the room apart from him and it wasn’t like anyone was keeping guard-

“Um, h-hi,” the all too familiar mellow voice entered Max’s ears and he yelped in surprise as he slightly jumped in his seat.

The blonde took a seat behind him and averted her gaze and soon an awkward silence felt between the two.

Now Max really couldn’t run away, that would be rude and that would probably imply that he didn’t want to be in Rose’s company.

On the contrary, he really enjoyed her company; but the fact that his friends were planning something, dare he think about it, sinister for him and sweet Rose didn’t really sit well with him.

“You, uh, okay?” Rose was the first to speak up and Max squeaked in his seat and started fiddling with his thumbs.

“I-I’m fine,” he gulped audibly as he slowly turned to look at her “Thank you for asking,”

Blue eyes scrutinized his face and her slightly furrowed brow signalled her concern. Her gaze softened slightly when their eyes had met and Max swore that she just blushed.

Damn, that was adorable.

Shaking his head, Max groaned in his seat and Rose furrowed her brows again “Max?”

Slumping in his chair, the bespectacled high schooler shook his head “It’s nothing,”

“Do you know why we’re here?” slowly turning to look at her, Max saw her shaking her head.

“Well, the others are convinced that we’d look good as a couple,” he started and his gaze travelled from Rose’s face to her neck, then to her chest, down to her stomach then-

Okay too far down.

Shooting his eyes back up to her eyes, Max cleared his throat “There’s a,” he stopped for a moment, finding reprieve in mundane calculations “Ninety three point seventy eight percent chance that they’re all preparing to get us together,”

Getting that out of his system made relief wash over Max; he should do this heart to heart thing with Kim and Adrien more often.

“Does that bother you?” Max furrowed his brows and quickly turned to look at Rose, who was now the one looking away. The tinge of pain from the tone of her questioning had sent bad chills down Max's spine.

“N-No!” he spluttered out and Rose turned to look at him curiously “I-I mean, I don’t mind being in a relationship with you,”

“Believe me, I really want to,” where was all this coming from?

“I just thought it’s kind of unfair if they paired you up with me and you hadn’t possessed the mutual interest,” Max looked down towards his shoes and marvelled at its laces “I suppose I just didn’t want them to force you to like me,”

“Or… get rejected,” he finally finished, feeling a quiver in his lip. Max had completely forgotten that he wasn’t alone in the room and jumped in surprise when a soft hand had placed itself on top of his.

“I’m relieved,” Rose had scooted closer and smiled at Max “I thought you didn’t like me because you kept on running off or ignoring me,” a single tear formed at her eyes and Max furrowed his brows.

“W-well, I was just… embarrassed, you know,” the bespectacled high schooler took her hand in his and was slightly surprised to find that she didn’t mind “It literally is my first time having felt these _things_ ,”

Rose giggled and wiped at her eyes and a comfortable silence fell upon them, opposed to that awkward one earlier.

For a good minute or two, they both looked into each other’s eyes and felt themselves drawing closer and closer to each other’s faces; their hands gripping tighter onto the other as they felt their breaths tickle their respective lips-

“Okay! Time to go, Max-“ Kim burst through the front door with a smile on his face, which was completely wiped off of his face as he saw the scene before him.

The two quickly withdrew from each other and averted their gazes and Kim felt his mouth fall open.

“Whoa, whoa whoa!” the Korean shook his head in disbelief.

“What?” he furrowed his brows “ _What?!_ ”

But then suddenly a large smile graced Kim’s lips “Were you two just about to… _make out_?”

Max felt blood rush to his face and shook his head “No!” and quickly pursed his lips “We were just-“

“Ah, a sweet little kiss, huh?” the Korean nodded in an agreeing manner and shook his head “Well, you’ve gone and done it again, dude,”

Max furrowed his brows “What do you mean?”

“Well, we had this Operation all planned out for you and Rose but you just had to keep it a secret that you two were _already_ dating,” Kim shrugged and smiled mischievously. Max could tell that his friend was just squeezing any remaining shame he could get out of him.

Well, two can play at this game.

“I’ll have to apologize for that,” Max stood up and forgot that he was still holding Rose’s hand and reluctantly let go “I just didn’t want to let everyone know,”

Kim frowned and crossed his arms “Wait, you two really _are_ dating?”

Max nodded with confidence and looked at Rose; which made him lose a bit of his confidence when she had this curiously confused look on his face.

“Really?” Kim seemed to have noticed Rose’s expression and tapped at his foot impatiently “If that’s the case, the Operation would’ve been a waste-“

“N-no!” Rose squeaked and stood up herself, quickly placing her hands onto her mouth.

“I-I mean,” the blond looked down and shyly went to reach out for Max’s hand “W-we were just nervous about telling everyone the news,” she squeaked and Max looked at her incredulously-

Was she playing along with his ruse?

Even though it _was_ just a ruse, Max felt his heart skip a beat.

“Huh,” Kim didn’t seem convinced but shrugged “I should probably tell the others to cancel things, then-“

“That won’t be necessary,” Max readjusted his glasses as he tightened his grip on Rose’s hand “How about we all just go there and we could straighten things out, yeah?”

Kim nodded in agreement and smiled “Yeah, that would make things less complicated,”

Max and Rose smiled when Kim exited the room and the two of them fell into their seats and felt relief wash over them. Max snickered and Rose giggled, and soon after both of them were laughing.

Noticing that he was still holding onto her hand, Max tried to pull away but found resistance and Rose quickly moved towards Max and placed her head on his shoulder.

“If we’re going to keep this up we’re going to at least hold hands around everyone from now on,” the blonde quipped and Max couldn’t help but laugh.

“How long do we have to _keep this up_ , then?” Max’s question made Rose hum and she shrugged “How long do you want us to pretend?”

“Frankly, I don’t want us to pretend,” quickly slapping his mouth with his free hand, Max spewed out gibberish sounds and Rose turned to look at him, eyes filled with amusement.

“So, do you want to go out?” the blonde nestled her head further into the crook of his neck, enjoying the warmth that his body was emitting.

Max was caught unaware at the question and felt himself laugh. Shaking his head and leaning it on top of hers, the bespectacled high schooler tightened his hold on her arm.

“I’d like that very much,”

 ---

“So you guys were already a thing?!” Alya’s shoulders slumped and she groaned “What was the use of this thing then?” she gestured towards the quaint little surprise party that they had just made and Max laughed.

“To celebrate now that you guys know?” the bespectacled high schooler asked in a rhetorical manner and soon after laughter rang around the room while Max turned to look at Rose, who turned to look at him as well.

They both stared at each other for a few seconds before laughing themselves, making their way towards the middle of the room where a modest snack table stood.

Adrien leaned on the wall behind him and watched as his classmates flocked to the two new lovebirds. Feeling a smile creep up his lips, the blond yelped in surprise when someone had spoken to him.

“They’re kind of cute, huh?” it was Marinette and she smiled at the scene Kim was putting on as he hugged both Max and Rose at the same time.

“Yeah,” the blond responded and pushed himself off of the wall and made his way towards the center of the room when Kim had started throwing food around; much to Alya and Ivan’s chagrin.

Marinette smiled and felt herself freeze up at the realization that she had just made “I just spoke with Adrien,” she cupped her face using her hands “ _I just spoke with Adrien!_ ”

Everyone was far too busy throwing food at each other to even notice the raven haired girl freaking out by the corner of the room; and Tikki had to discreetly calm her ward down before Marinette started freaking out too much.

Of course it had gotten quite competitive and ended with only Juleka not getting food on her, because frankly, no one could throw food at her at any given time. It was like she wasn’t in the room at all.

But she was actually, because she gave a smile and a thumbs up to Rose after all that commotion.

Max lay on the ground, clothes stained with food and he smiled as he closed his eyes.

“Come on, we have to clean up,” Rose’s voice entered his ears and Max quickly opened his eyes, only for them to fall upon brilliant blue ones.

For once in his life, Max did not automatically calculate the number of the person in front of him and he smiled at this fact.

Standing up and brushing at his pants, Max took some discarded food containers on the ground and made his way to the trash bin.

Everyone was animatedly cleaning the room up and Max felt himself smile. He had never seen them so happy before and he sure hasn’t felt this happy before either.

Going back into the fray and helping with the cleaning, Max laughed and joked around with everyone; sometimes making more of a mess than actually cleaning up.

 ---

“Ugh, would you two just leave me alone?” Chloe spat out and the two redheads suddenly froze in place.

The three of them were around a few blocks away from collège right now and Nathanael cleared his throat “Yes ma’am,” taking Sabrina’s arm and rushing off, the redheaded artist spotted a café and smiled.

“Want to go on that date you owe me?” Nathanael asked jokingly and Sabrina lowered her face as she nodded slightly. The artist was much more assertive when it was just the two of them but she supposed that added to his charm.

The two entered the café and Nathanael guided Sabrina to a table with four chairs and sat her down, pursing his lips a bit before nodding his head “I’ll be back,” was all he said as he exited the establishment and rushed off somewhere.

Sabrina twiddled with her fingers and felt nervous. Maybe Nathanael had left her there? Maybe he had lost interest in her already? Maybe he’s-

“It’s just because I have nothing better to do!” a familiar voice entered Sabrina’s ears and her eyes lit up when she saw Nathanael and Chloe enter the café.

“Plus my best friend is here,” taking a seat beside Sabrina, the blonde crossed her legs “I wouldn’t want to leave her with a _predator_ like you,” Chloe glared at Nathanael and the redheaded artist raised his hands in defeat as he took his seat.

A waiter came and took their orders and Nathanael was kind of surprised that Chloe didn’t act so harshly against the waiter; especially since they were out of her favorite concoction.

Their orders came and the three of them partook in conversation, with Chloe naturally flaunting her wealth and everything else at almost every occasion.

But what perplexed Nathanael even more is when the blonde would completely stop speaking and listen to Sabrina or him for a while as they shared their own stories.

Sabrina, he could understand why.

But him?

Was Chloe feeling sick today?

“So, what’s up with you two, anyway?” the sudden question cut Nathanael off from his musings and made Sabrina slightly choke on her drink.

“Huh?” the redheaded artist asked incredulously and Chloe groaned as she fished for her phone.

“Well, my ride’s here,” she turned to look at the outside of the café and saw her father’s limosine.

Taking out her purse and giving a hefty sum of euros to Sabrina, the blonde furrowed her brows at Nathanael “You better take good care of Sabrina-“

“ _Or else_ ,” Chloe sashayed out of the café and got onto her father’s limosine; while Nathanael and Sabrina followed the black automobile with their eyes until they couldn’t see it anymore.

“This is too much,” Sabrina furrowed her brows as she recounted the euros “For hers?” Nathanael took a seat beside her and looked at the money being counted.

“For all of us,” the redheaded female quipped and Nathanael pursed his lips.

Taking a sip from his chocolate shake, the redheaded artist furrowed his brows once more.

Chloe must _really_ be sick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weebdrien is adorable, I know.  
> And I also wanted to give a happy-ish ending for Chloe, I mean all of these kids deserve to be happy, right?  
> I hope you guys enjoyed!  
> But it's not the end yet; because there's a-


	22. Bonus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Thanks for the advice, man,” leaping off of Max’s house, Chat Noir disappeared with the clanging of his staff and his excited laughter.  
> Standing up and plopping himself onto his bed, Max buried his face into the sheets “Nothing could go wrong, right?”  
> “Right?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -special chapter, friends!  
> I know I promised some of you Adrienette in the story but I didn't manage to squeeze it in the main storyline!  
> Well, anyway, here it is! A chapter dedicated to that very pairing!  
> (Featuring Max, of course!)

“Are you sure?”

“Positive,”

“Like, really sure?”

“I’m sure it’ll work,” Max smiled confidently and Chat Noir slumped on his bespectacled friend’s bed.

“How sure?” the blond hero asked as he bit at his lower lip. Looks like Chat wanted to be really sure about all this judging from the fact that he was asking about the statistics.

“Twenty six point two percent,” Max pursed his lips and Chat groaned “That’s too low!”

“Well, there are certain… _factors_ that make it as low as it is,” Max explained as calmly as he could, hoping to not agitate the blond even further.

“Like what?” raising an eyebrow curiously, Chat crossed his arms “Humor me,”

Max gulped audibly and shook his head “That would compromise Ladybug’s identity,” at the mention of her lady’s identity, Chat’s gaze quickly softened and his mouth fell into a small “o”.

It’s laughable, really, Max thought. Chat Noir was madly in love with Ladybug, yet Ladybug gave her heart to Adrien, his civilian identity.

Yet she doesn’t know that her partner was actually Adrien.

And the cherry on top was that Marinette had this _huge_ crush on Adrien, as Max had finally noticed after careful observation; which by extension means Marinette’s affections stay along with her superhero alter ego, while Chat Noir’s affections also do the same when he’s normal Adrien.

They’re in a love square with themselves, it was funny.

“What’s so funny?” Chat sounded more aggravated now and Max quickly wiped the smile creeping in his face “Nothing,”

“You know what?” the blond stood up from Max’s bed and nodded his head.

“I’m going to ask Marinette for advice,”

Max’s eyes widened in realization at where all this was going “Wait, don’t!” the bespectacled high schooler screamed as Chat Noir was about to leap off of his window.

“What?” the blond hero went back inside and planted his arms on his hips “What’s the hold up?”

“I mean, you can’t ask her for advice,” Max’s head was filled with various calculations. Calculations of embarrassment. Calculations of things going awry.

Calculations of them finding out that they were _actually_ partners.

Huh, that would actually _be_ beneficial now that he thought about it.

Chat furrowed his brows “Why not?”

“I take it back,” Max pursed his lips “Asking for advice from Marinette would be optimal to win your lady’s heart,”

Frowning and shaking his head, Chat glared at Max “What’s with the sudden change of heart?”

“Nothing!” pursing his lips again, Max shrugged “I mean, she’s a girl like Ladybug after all,” the bespectacled high schooler readjusted his glasses “I’m sure she’ll give much better advice than I,”

Climbing out of Max’s window and still frowning, Chat snorted “Well, if you say so,”

“Thanks for the advice, man,” leaping off of Max’s house, Chat Noir disappeared with the clanging of his staff and his excited laughter.

Standing up and plopping himself onto his bed, Max buried his face into the sheets “Nothing could go wrong, right?”

“Right?”

 ---

Marinette lay in her bed, head propped up by her pillow as one of her legs dangled off the edge of the bed. Novel in her hands, the raven haired girl sighed as she concluded another chapter.

Why couldn’t Adrien be this romantic?

Actually, did Adrien even notice her?

The thought sent a twang of sadness through her and Marinette felt her lip quiver, only to yelp in surprise when someone had knocked on the wooden door situated by her ceiling; which led to the balcony above.

Standing up and placing the novel in her hands on her workstation, Marinette stretched a bit as she smiled.

Only one person came to visit her this way.

“Come in!” she giggled a bit, sitting on her bed and watched as the door by her ceiling had suddenly swung open.

In one swift motion, Chat Noir fell in on all fours then quickly got onto his feet with a curtsy; white rose in hand as he offered it with an outstretched hand.

“Princess,” the blond hero smirked and winked to which Marinette replied with a snort.

“Kitty,” she smiled as she took the flower with one hand, bringing it to her face to smell it.

Luckily, there was a flower vase nearby, almost filled to the brim with Chat’s flowery gifts. Literally.

“What brings you here this fine weekend,” crossing her legs and cupping her face with one hand as she leaned on her knees, Marinette raised an eyebrow curiously.

“I’m here to ask for advice,” the blond sat down on the floor.

“Oh?” the raven haired female stifled a laugh “The great _catsanova_ Chat Noir needs help?”

Smiling at the pun, Chat shook his head “It’s about Ladybug,”

Marinette’s lip twitched for a moment “ _About me?_ ”

“Ask away, kitty,” reclining in her bed, Marinette’s smile did not let up; mainly because she was feeling nervous that Chat was going to ask about, well, _her_.

“I really like her,” Chat Noir started “But I think she doesn’t like me back,”

“I mean, I know she likes me as a friend; a partner, but I kind of want to be more than that,”

“ _Oh my God has he finally found out?!”_ Marinette pursed her lips and felt a cold sweat run down the side of her face “ _Is this some sort of convoluted confession of his love?_ ”

A lot of thoughts raced through Marinette’s mind and Chat’s words had already stopped registering in her ears the moment he stated that he wanted to talk about Ladybug.

Marinette certainly liked Chat, even more so when she’s donning the guise of Ladybug.

But she loved Adrien and wanted to give her all to the blond. But if she were to reject Chat Noir here then that would overcomplicate their relationship so much that it would have been better if they never met.

What really bothered Marinette, however, was _how exactly_ did Chat find out her secret identity?

Did he already know for a while and just accepted the fact that he could love both Marinette _and_ Ladybug?

Or was it just a recent thing?

Marinette’s brain was overloading with information and the raven haired girl had suddenly felt her head ache.

“Princess?” Chat asked with concern “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Marinette answered weakly as she rubbed at her temples “Just felt a sudden headache is all,”

“So, what did you want to say about Ladybug?” she smiled the best smile that she could and braced herself for whatever Chat was going to say next.

“Well, I’ll never get anywhere with her,” Chat looked down and started twiddling with his thumbs “I came here wanting to ask for advice how to win her over,”

“But now I realize that she’ll never want to be with someone like me,” the blond’s shoulders slumped down.

Hearing Chat sound so pained clenched at Marinette’s heart like a vice-grip. Sure, she loved Adrien but seeing Chat so down about something just didn’t feel right.

Even when they were fighting crime he was the enthusiastic one. The one who jokes around and laughs in the face of danger. Marinette wasn’t used to seeing the blond depressed and felt kind off betrayed that he’d show this side to Marinette and not Ladybug.

Did he really love Ladybug if that were the case?

“Thanks, Princess,” Chat sniffled as he stood up to leave “For… hearing me out,”

Marinette watched silently as Chat was about to leave her room, slowly ascending the stairs instead of using his staff to elevate himself off of the ground.

Chat _really_ must be down if he were doing something as mundane as walking.

“Wai-“ Marinette quickly pursed her lips when the door to her room situated on her floor had suddenly swung open.

“Wait!” Max screamed as he bent to his knees and started panting like crazy.

“Wait-“ he fell down to the ground and Chat quickly rushed to his side as Marinette stood up from her bed.

“Max?!” the two yelled out in unison and Max hastily stood up and kicked the door to a close; bringing a finger to his lips as he shushed the two.

“Your parents aren’t aware that Chat Noir is here,” Max spoke in a hushed tone and settled the two down.

“What are you doing here?” Chat furrowed his brows and thought long and hard about why Max of all people would unceremoniously cut off his exit.

“It’s still too early for you two to know,” Max huffed one last time and sat down on the floor “Or you two already know and I came in too late,”

The two exchanged confused glances and turned back to Max “Know what?” Marinette asked curiously, feelings of sadness all but forgotten.

Max pursed his lips and nodded his head “So… you two don’t know?”

“Know what?” Chat growled a bit and shook his head.

“You ‘know what’?” the blond turned to stairs that led to the balcony “I’m leaving,”

Chat rushed up the stairs and Max suddenly stood up “Wait, Adrien!”

All three occupants in the room froze into place and Chat slowly turned to look at Max.

“A-Adrien?” Marinette’s lip quivered and she quickly turned to look at the blond and her eyes widened in disbelief when she had finally seen the uncanny resemblances.

“Chat is Adrien?!” Marinette was freaking out and Max moved towards her and shook his head.

“No!” the bespectacled high schooler smiled nervously “I, uh, said-“

“Hey, Drien!” Max smiled and nodded his head “You know, that small Swedish city near the Baltic Sea-“

“ _OhmyGod_ ,” Marinette bit at her lower lip and turned to look at Chat Noir again.

“OH MY GOD!” the raven haired girl ran to the opposite end of the room and looked at Chat with disbelief; but the blond had seen this as fear.

“What the hell, Max?!” leaping from where he stood, Chat growled at the bespectacled high schooler “You said you wouldn’t tell _anybody_!”

“Sh-she’s an exception!” Max slowly retreated from the fuming Chat Noir “Th-that’s because she’s-“

“I trusted you!” lifting Max by the collar of his shirt, Chat felt rage and sadness boil from inside of him “I TRUSTED YOU!”

“W-wait, Chat-“

“Chat!” Marinette called out and rushed over to the two males “Let him go,”

Chat growled and glared at Max, who was slowly losing consciousness.

“Now!” the raven haired girl commanded as she stomped on the floor, making the blond yelp in surprise as he released Max from his grip.

Marinette frowned at the blond and breathed through her nose as she rubbed at her temples. Leaning downward, the raven haired female looked at Max with concern “Are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine,” choking, Max shook his head “Thank you,”

Chat was confused at the whole turn of events. He had just lost his secret identity and Marinette chooses to side with Max instead of him.

Man, he really _does_ have bad luck.

Standing up and pursing his lips, Max reached out but slowly retracted his hand “Adrien-“

The blond crossed his arms as he fumed, feeling tears form at the corner of his eyes. He refused to speak, feeling that his words would just make everything worse.

“Marinette’s an exception to knowing your identity,” Max started as he cleared his throat, gingerly touching his neck.

Shrugging, Max continued “Well, technically Ladybug is the exception,” Chat and Marinette furrowed their brows at the same time and Marinette quickly understood what was happening.

“Because I remember you telling me once that you’d gladly tell her your civilian identity; without knowing hers,” nodding to himself, Max readjusted his glasses as he felt the strain on his neck relieving quite a bit.

“And technically, Marinette _is_ Ladybug so that means that I didn’t really break my promise,”

Silence fell upon the room and Chat’s mouth fell open “What?” was all that the blond could mutter.

“I mean, I promised that I wouldn’t tell anyone about your secret but we agreed that Ladybug would be an exception if something serious would have happened,” Max rambled on.

“Like if you’d get into an accident and your miraculous wears off or something like that,”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Chat furrowed his brows “Marinette is Ladybug?”

“Ah, yes,” Max nodded in agreement “She has the exact same number as her,”

“Plus you two always seem to disappear whenever an akuma appears so it’s just common sense, actually,” Max smiled and shrugged but suddenly pursed his lips when a hush fell upon the room once more.

“Marinette _is_ Ladybug?!” Chat cupped his face using both of his clawed hands “ _MarinetteisLadybug!”_

“Number?” the raven haired girl looked at Max incredulously “What are you talking about?” but she was impressed at Max’s deduction, though.

Clearing his throat, Max smiled “Sit down, let me explain,”

 ---

“Ah, so you can calculate people’s… _numbers_ using their personality?” Marinette nodded in agreement but Max shook his head.

“Along with their abilities and traits; those three go hand in hand with my calculations,” readjusting his glasses, Max cleared his throat.

“So, anymore inquiries?”

“So, is Marinette _really_ Ladybug?” Chat asked for the umpteenth time while both Marinette and Max groaned, and the raven haired female stood up and slid her drawer open; and Chat had caught a glimpse of a strangely familiar red flash come out of the drawer.

“Tikki, spots on!”

After a flash of pink and red light, Ladybug stood where Marinette was just a few moments ago.

“Does this answer your question, _kitty_?” Chat blinked a few times and felt his mouth fall open slowly. The blond had managed a slow nod for an answer after a few seconds.

“I’m glad you two finally know,” Max interjected and caught the attention of the two heroes “Now you two can stop with that ridiculous love square of yours,”

“Love square?” Ladybug asked with a raised eyebrow “What do you mean?”

Groaning, Max shook his head “Chat Noir likes Ladybug but Ladybug likes Adrien,”

“Marinette likes Adrien but Adrien likes Ladybug,”

“It’s ridiculous, really,” Max sat on the bed beside Chat Noir and shrugged “You’re both welcome, no need to thank me,”

Chat Noir looked over to Ladybug who nodded at him. The two heroes made their way towards their bespectacled classmate and both smiled deviously.

“Wh-what?” Max inched away from the two and gulped audibly.

“How are we so sure you’d keep our secret?” Ladybug crooned and leaned downward, placing a hand on Max’s leg.

“Especially after you’ve just r _at_ me out, dude,” Chat leaned on the wall beside him and smiled that signature grin of his.

Feeling a cold sweat run down the side of his face, Max smiled nervously “Th-that’s because she’s an exception!”

“A-And it was just a slip of the tongue earlier because I was comfortable with Marinette _because she’s an exception_!”  Max continued, his tone more pleading than explaining right now.

“We’re going to have to keep an eye on you,” Ladybug retracted her arm and planted her hands on her hips “Don’t you think so, kitty?”

“Of course, m’ladybug,” Chat smiled widely and waggled his eyebrows making Max gulp audibly once more.

 ---

“Why are Marinette and Adrien always going around with Max?” Nino asked with furrowed brows as his eyes followed the trio in question around as he took a bite on his sandwich. He respected his bro and his decisions but he couldn’t help but feel that he was kind of being replaced by Max.

“That’s not the important thing!” Alya draped her arms around Nino’s face, making the DJ yelp out in surprise.

“My girl’s going around _with_ Adrien ever since last week!” Alya’s eyes glimmered and she smiled widely.

“Oh, you’re right,” Nino chuckled “You suppose they’ve replaced us for Max?”

Alya snorted and whipped out her phone and stuck her tongue out “Nah,” waiting for the perfect moment when Max couldn’t be seen in the shot.

“Perfect!” Alya shoved the phone to Nino’s face and the DJ whistled “They kind of look like they’re dating or something,” Nino laughed as he took another bite from his sandwich.

“Laughing and conversing and-“

Realization struck the two and their eyes widened in disbelief. Not only had Marinette been going around with Adrien for the past week, but the fact that she was conversing with him _normally_ ever since last week was what really confused the two of them.

“Holy shi-“ Nino almost choked on his sandwich when Alya had pushed him down and rushed off.

“GIIIRLLL!” the bespectacled female screamed out, earning her the attention of the trio that she was just observing a few seconds ago.

Nino watched as Alya started to talk animatedly with the three, and the DJ swore that Alya had worn more than seventeen expressions in the span of the last ten seconds-

Okay, eighteen expressions.

Finishing his sandwich and standing up, Nino made his way towards the four with a smile on his face. He didn’t mind if Adrien liked Max more than him but the DJ was grateful that Adrien and Marinette had finally sealed the deal.

At least, that’s what he thinks they did.

Ah, well. If they haven’t they’ll get together sooner or later.

Plus Max still had that Operation for Adrien, too. That’s probably with Marinette, he thought.

Or they’ve already done that, which is the reason why Max always seemed to get dragged around by the two.

Hell, Nino couldn’t care less. Adrien looked happier than he ever has.

That’s what mattered.

“Hey, Adrien, dude, you and Mari a thing now?” Nino snickered as he elbowed the blond jokingly.

“We are, actually!” Adrien smiled as he took Marinette’s hand in his own, only for the raven haired girl to be pulled away by Alya who demanded answers to her numerous questions.

“Niiice,” stretching out a hand for Adrien to fistbump, Nino smiled “So was it an Operation or something?”

Max nodded “I apologize if I hadn’t informed any of you,” readjusting his glasses, Max shrugged “It was… Operation: Undercover,”

“I had to come in alone so I wouldn’t be suspected,” the bespectacled high schooler concluded and elicited a snort from Adrien.

“But you _did_ rat me out,” the blond interjected.

“I _did_ say I was sorry about that,” Max smiled nervously and Adrien shook his head “I’m kidding,” the blond smiled as he placed a hand on Max’s shoulder.

Nino smiled “So what’s with you two bringing Max around everywhere?” the DJ pocketed his hands and glanced over to an overexcited Alya and Marinette who was trying to calm her down.

“Well, it’s still part of the Operation,” Adrien explained and Nino nodded his head in agreement.

“Oh, well, good luck with that,” Nino smiled at Max who replied with a nervous smile.

“Let’s all go out!” Alya suddenly interjected while dragging Marinette behind her.

“I know this awesome movie that just came out and we could all go watch it!” the bespectacled female beamed and the other four smiled.

“Sounds like a plan,”  Adrien smiled “After classes, then?”

Nods of agreement went around and Max cleared his throat “I wouldn’t want to intrude so I suppose you four go and enjoy your movie-“

“You can bring Rose along!” Alya jumped up and down in excitement “A triple date!”

Marinette and Adrien both smiled at the suggestion “That’s a great idea, Alya!” the raven haired girl beamed and Nino caught all of their attention when he had snorted.

“Why not invite the whole class while we’re at it?” the DJ sneered.

“Don’t tempt me,” the bespectacled female smiled challengingly.

Max smiled as the four talked animatedly amongst themselves and followed after them as they re-entered their classroom, which was bustling with life and excitement.

Eyeing all the occupants of their room, Max felt a smile creep up his lips.

Operation: Classroom has successfully been achieved.

And in record time, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I personally feel like I didn't manage to expound on the pairing that much, so I apologize for that, friends!
> 
> Aaand this story is officially done!
> 
> Plus its a reveal! Oh, dear Lord Hawkdaddy!
> 
> I'd like to thank everyone again for their continued reading and all the wonderful comments you guys have left for me.  
> It's been a ride; a great ride, friends!  
> I hope you guys enjoyed the story as a whole!
> 
> If you guys ever want me to write something, don't be shy and request away!; I'll try to deliver with the best of my abilities!
> 
> Thanks again, friends!


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